Nevermore
by fanfic authoress
Summary: After Ciel becomes a demon, Thea Hawthorne- a girl with psychic powers- is sent to live off in England with her supposed cousin when her parents die. But there is an aura of darkness and mystery surrounding the manor- and she's determined to uncover the long-lost tale. Ciel/OC, CielxOC (After Season 2, modern day.)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I regret writing most of this story because of it's bad writing and many, many issues with plot, characters, etc. Read at your own risk, I'm not held responsible for my writing. Feel free to critique and give helpful criticism. **

Chapter 1

I stared out the semi-dirty cab window as we rode on the bumpy road. For some reason my cousin chose to live in the most inconvenient place possible. It had taken me forever just to find someone who was willing to take me this far out into the country. I hadn't seen anything but the green of trees for approximately twenty minutes. The cab driver was silent, keeping his eyes steadily on the road, and his silence only added to my anxiousness. He had stopped talking after I zoned out and used only one word answers. I really hadn't meant to be rude, but my mind was on other things.

My hand was in my jean pocket, clutching a letter I had read so many times it was extremely crumpled. I don't know why I had even kept it, I had memorized it after practically the fiftieth time I had read it. My hand clenched around it, making sure my fingers wouldn't tremble.

The looping letters that were printed on the paper were barely legible anymore. The ink ran in places where my tears had fallen on them, and the paper was too crumpled to be of any use.

_Dear Miss Thea Hawthorne,_

_ We, of the Phantomhive Manor, have recently heard of your parent's tragic deaths. The master of our estate- Ciel Phantomhive- welcomes you into his home as a guest and family member. You must feel free to stay as long as you need, and may leave when you are able._

_ We have included plane tickets to London in the envelope in hopes that you will join us on May 29. If so, your things will be sent separately. We hope to see you here soon._

_ Best Wishes,_

_ Sebastian Michaelis,_

_ Butler of the Phantomhive estate_

My parents had died in a car crash a few of weeks ago, a hit and run quote-on-quote 'accident'. A painful death, I was told. The driver had never been caught- never had to see the consequences of his actions. I gritted my teeth subconsciously at the thought.

After they had died, I was in a _bit_ of a situation. I didn't have much family to begin with on either side, and none were willing to take me on because of my... _condition_. They turned me away just because I was different from the others. Stupid, pathetic people. I scowled slightly to myself at the thought, turning my head towards the window.

The lawyers back home had been at a loss as of what to do with me. They had even considered putting me in a foster home- which I would have promptly run away from. But then news of a cousin on my mother's side I had never even heard of reached us. And so they shipped me off, relieved I expect, to live with someone I'd never even heard of. I had to move from my home state of Indiana to live in far off England. Yeah, I wasn't that big of a fan of that. It almost seemed too perfect, the way it was arranged. I mean, come on. A 'long-lost' cousin arriving just as my parents died and I would have to be put in an orphanage? You cannot _get_ more fairytale than that. But the thing about fairy tales is that they rarely ended happily- well, at least the originals didn't.

The taxi- cab here, I reminded myself- rolled to a stop in front of a large sprawling manor. My mouth dropped open in astonishment. It was amazing. I mean _amazing_. The manor was surrounded by woods on all sides and the garden was filled with all kinds of flowers I couldn't even guess the names of.

Damn... They didn't tell me my cousin was rich. Absolutely rolling in money by the looks of it. I scowled to myself, he better not be one of those snobby, I'm-so-much-better-than-you people. I don't _do_ people like that. We usually disagree. And by disagree I mean that I usually insult them relentlessly until they get annoyed.

I got out of my cab and mentally prepared myself, before paying the driver and getting my medium sized suitcase out of the trunk. Outside of the mansion, there was a man dressed all in black wearing a traditional butler's wear. I blinked once. Twice. I knew from the letter that Ciel had a butler, but was he _actually_ wearing a stereotypical butler's outfit? That was… slightly sad…

The man came up to the cab, "You must be Miss Hawthorne," the man said smoothly in a British accent. Right now, I was _really_ grateful I wasn't a huge blusher. Because if I was, I would have blood gushing out of my nose in streams right now. He was attractive. _Very_ attractive. He flipping put _Loki_ to shame. (Well, maybe not that attractive). But of course he knew that, so it made him less so- but only a little. He had inky black hair that fell into his strange, wine-colored eyes. I've never seen eyes like that... I wonder how you would get that color?

I shifted my bag on my shoulder. "Just call me Thea, you don't need to be all fancy with me," I said bluntly. Maybe rather _too _bluntly considering we just met. But luckily he didn't seem offended and did a peculiar closed eye grin. _And… that was creepy. _

He didn't speak after that. _Why are you doing this to me, I don't deal well with silences!_ After a moment's silence, I shifted awkwardly, "So... What's your name?" Nice Thea, nice. Real smooth.

"Sebastian Michaelis, Miss Hawthorne." I sent him a glare out of instinct, but then quickly rearranged my face to a more pleasant expression. After all, we had just met. But he caught the quick look and smirked at me. I looked down and shuffled my feet together.

"The young master will be down in a moment, you won't have to wait long," Sebastian said probably out of pity, noticing my anxious look. I smiled quickly at him before my face settled back into its worried expression. I was on edge- what if he didn't want me in his home? If they sent me to a foster home I was running away right then and there, no question. I'd heard stories about those places.

"There's no need to wait," a British male's voice said dryly. I slowly turned to face him and I almost face faulted. Okay, this is _so_ not fair; everyone is attractive in England- I'm convinced of it!

"I'm Ciel Phantomhive," he said. Ciel had navy blue hair- which I wondered if he had dyed- that fell into his sapphire colored eyes. Technically _eye_\- since one was covered with an eye patch like a pirate. I wonder what's the story behind that? I bet it's an interesting one.

He didn't seem to be that much older than me, and I was sixteen. For a moment, I wondered why Sebastian had called him 'Young Master', they didn't look like there was much of an age gap between them. He had a more slender build than most boys I had seen- but let's be honest, I haven't met many boys in my life. Or even girls for that matter.

I couldn't bring myself to say anything besides an unladylike, "Uhhhhh..." He smirked at me in amusement with a glint in his eye. Then he turned around and started walking toward the manor at a steady pace.

"Well, are you going to stand there all day or do you want a tour of the place you're staying?" Ciel asked, tossing his head over his shoulder. _I like him already_. I grinned slightly before jogging after him, throwing a regretful look at Sebastian, who was left with my luggage.

The first thing I said when we got to the entrance was, "Wow." If the outside had been beautiful, then the inside was spectacular. The foyer had a black and white parquet flooring and the ceiling extended many floors. There was a grand staircase right in the middle. It looked like one of those staircases that parents didn't allow their children on unless it was Christmas or something.

Ciel didn't pause and continued to walk straight to the left, down the hall. I quickly stumbled after him rather ungracefully. When he stopped rather abruptly at a door, I ran into his back since I wasn't paying attention.

"Sorry," I muttered before regaining an appropriate amount of distance between us. As you can see, I am extremely clumsy. I was so flustered I missed the smirk that made his way to his lips.

"This is the main room." My eyes widened as I gawked. The room was huge and was filled with any kind of entertainment you could want. I saw a chess table in the corner, and I made a mental note to ask Ciel if he played. There was a huge flatscreen TV that took up the better part of the wall and an enormous cream sectional that looked extremely plush and comfy. It took all of my self control to not swan dive into it. Seriously, that was really tempting.

"Important question," I said, unintentionally cutting him off mid sentence, "Do you have wifi?" Ciel arched an eyebrow.

"No," he replied shortly. My eyes widened to the size of saucer plates.

"What?" I asked in a choked voice. No, I can't stay here. They don't have wifi! How will I survive? A small smirk tugged Ciel's lips.

"I'm only joking," he said in a teasing tone. Putting a hand to my heart, I glared at him.

"You just gave me a heart attack!" I cried, reprimanding him. I took deep breath calming myself. It was slightly pathetic how much I reacted to that simple statement. Then again, I can't survive with the internet for more than five days. Even that was stretching it.

"... We also have Netflix here so you can watch-" I didn't even realize he was talking until he mentioned Netflix.

"You have Netflix here!?" I interrupted. He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes..."

"Yeah!" I double fisted the air and Ciel gave me a strange look. I lowered my arms. "What?" I asked, giving my most innocent look. "I just love Netflix." He was still looking at me like I was crazy. Which I probably was, as a matter of fact. He cleared his throat and changed the subject.

"Anyway, there are other rooms that you should see," Ciel said. True to his word, he showed me around other important rooms except one major one. The kitchen. I love food and I won't lie about it. Food if one of the major joys in my life. Especially chocolate. YES. Chocolate is love. I was high on excitement for the first time in weeks, and I couldn't find it in myself to care.

"Hey Ciel?" I ask. He turns his head over his shoulder with an eyebrow cocked in question.

"Yes?"

"Where's the kitchen?" I ask. He paused for a moment before answering.

"It's going under construction."

"Alright then." Something in his voice made me not fully believe him; but hey, it was his business, not mine.

"Here's your room," Ciel announced, opening a door. I gawked at my room. One, it was _huge_ for one. I mean like triple the size of my old room- which was a good size to begin with. Two, it had _freaking built in book shelves_.

"Oh my God!" I practically screamed. I ran past Ciel into the room to gawk at the shelves. They were made of dark wood and they covered an entire wall. An entire. Freaking. Wall.

"I think I might actually be able to fit all my books onto these!" Ciel gave me a confused look.

"It's an entire wall, you only brought a suitcase," Ciel said bemused. I gave him an almost pitying look.

"Darling," I drawled, "You didn't really think I brought all my books with me in a suitcase did you? If I had brought all my books, that cab wouldn't have been able to move an inch. I do believe that they're shipping them separately." Turning my attention from him back to the shelves, I sighed in happiness, daydreaming about all the books I might be able to buy to fit on it.

"You like to read then?" Ciel asked. I turned around and beamed at him, my first real smile in weeks.

"Like? Reading is my life! I read dozens of books a day." Smiling slightly at that, Ciel showed me around my new room, including my bathroom which I squealed over.

"I'm guessing that you're going to stay," Ciel said with a smirk when I gazed with wide eyes at my new bathroom. Turning to face him, I rolled my eyes.

"I don't exactly have anywhere else to go, now do I?" I asked dryly, indirectly referring to my 'condition'. Ciel tilted his head and gave me a bewildered look.

"What do you mean?" He questioned.

"How do you not-" I stopped suddenly and looked down at the floor, afraid I had said too much. I didn't like to talk about the accident.

"What?" Ciel asked.

I raised my head to give him a confused look. "You _really_ don't know?" I asked incredulously. Ciel shook his head, cocking his head to the side, looking curious. I was suddenly nervous and looked at the floor again. What if the only reason he agreed to take me in was because he didn't know? Would I ruin the chance to stay here if he found out? I didn't have anywhere else to go. And even if I refused to tell him right now, he would find out eventually.

Seeing my nervousness, Ciel said, "It's alright if you don't want to talk about it. Everyone has their secrets."

Smiling slightly, I ran my hand through my brown bangs, brushing them back. "No, it's not that... it's okay. It's just when I was about nine I got in an accident and my right leg was completely crushed. They had to remove it and I got a prosthetic." I lifted my jeans up a little to show the wood of my leg. "It's a shitty piece of work, but I'm used to it," I shrugged like it was no big deal- but it was. Ciel had a cryptic look on his face.

I look down self consciously. What if he didn't want me here now? Most people didn't want to 'take care' of someone. But they didn't realize they didn't have to. I can take care of myself, thank you very much.

After several moments of silence, I looked up at Ciel. He was gazing at my leg with a mixture of emotions that I couldn't define. But not revulsion, like most other people. It was more of sympathy and… understanding. Slowly, he simply nodded as I released my pant leg to cover up the wood once more. Somehow his silence spoke louder than words, and I was okay with that.

I grinned to myself, unable to keep the smile from flitting across my cheeks. Someone wasn't just telling me I should do my best to become what I was before. Somehow, his silence was more accepting than anything he could have said.

"Thank you," I said with a small smile- even though he hadn't said anything. But there was something else about him… He acted as if he had knowledge of this. He had lost something in his life, you could tell just by the way he held himself.

"There's nothing to thank me for," Ciel said stiffly, "You must be tired from your plane trip here. You can rest up here for the rest of the day if you wish. Dinner will be at 7:30, but it can be brought up here if you so choose." I nodded, showing I understood.

"Thank you." Ciel nodded at me and left my new room, closing the door behind him. I turned around and sighed in contentment. My room was beautiful.

The walls were painted a rich, dark blue and there were glass doors that opened up to a balcony overlooking the woods. Somehow I had a feeling I would be spending a lot of time out there. My bed was a queen and was covered in a _very_ fluffy looking comforter and a load of pillows.

I dropped my purse on the floor and looked side to side mischievously. No one was looking. I got a running start and swan dived into my bed. Yes, I think yes.I could _definitely _get used to this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello, this is my first story on Fanfiction, I hope you like it! Give it a try, I'll try to make it good.

Please R&amp;R!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I finished my game of chess on my Ipod, before doing a double fist to the air. "Yes! That makes one hundred and four consecutive wins," I said to the empty room. Yes I talk to myself; no, I'm not ashamed of it. I need at least _someone_ intelligent to speak to. Or not so intelligent; whichever is good.

I checked the battery level on my Ipod. Crap, I only had five percent left. _Oh well_. I turned it off and plugged it in to charge before checking the clock. It was almost seven thirty. Better start making my way towards food; I was starving since I hadn't eaten lunch. Leaving my room, I closed the door behind me.

"Well, shit." I had no idea how to get to the dining hall. I _think _Ciel said something about it being on the first floor. 'Think' being the key word there. Acting on that assumption- which was probably wrong- I walked to the stairs and started to make my way downstairs.

When I reached the first floor I had no idea where to go from there, so I started opening every door I found. This place was enormous. How did two people even live here? None of the rooms I entered had anyone in them to ask where to go to get to the dining room. They didn't even have food in them; that was extremely inconsiderate. After closing about the eighth door, I sighed and leaned against the wall. Rubbing my temples with one hand, I scowled to myself.

Suddenly a door opened down the hall to my left. Curious, I wandered over to it and looked inside. It was the dining hall. Ciel was already sitting at the end of a long wood table that looked like it came from medieval times. I spun on my heel to stare accusingly at the door.

"Did you open that?" I asked Ciel, looking at him over my shoulder.

"No," Ciel answered with a quirked eyebrow while sipping a glass of red liquid. I freaking knew it. This place was _totally_ haunted.

"Your house is haunted," I announced to him loudly, sitting on the opposite end of the long table. He quirked an eyebrow, expecting me to elaborate.

"Oh really..." Ciel drawled, drawing out the second word.

"Yes really. I'm just saying, it better not be haunted by demons from Paranormal Activity 3, because I hated that movie. I'm not getting dragged down to the basement by an evil force. I don't want to die _that_ early," I said bluntly, like I had known him all my life. I really needed to tone this down; I wasn't usually like this with people I had just met. I probably needed to stop being so sarcastic, but fortunately Ciel seemed alright with it. Ciel smirked like I said something funny.

"What?" I asked with a confused expression on my face.

"Nothing," Ciel said with a small smirk tugging his lips. _Okay... now I'm suspicious._ I squinted my eyes at him accusingly before the kitchen door opened with a bang that resounded through the quiet room.

It was Sebastian holding multiple trays in his hands. _Whoa._ Any waitress would be jealous of that man's balance. If I tried that, I would drop everything on the floor and break everything. He set them down, thankfully unharmed, before announcing the name- which was something in French that sounded very complicated- and left us to eat. The food was delicious, most likely the best I had ever eaten. The kitchen must not have been under _that_ much construction if Sebastian was able to make this. I made a mental note to thank him next time I saw him. Instantly eating as fast I was able, I futilely attempted to slow down. I couldn't help it- I have always eaten fast.

"You eat like a pig," Ciel commented, his tone the same as if he were talking about the weather. Oooooo... he was a sarcastic one. I like those. I swallowed my food.

"I know," I shrugged casually, "I can't help it. My mum used to complain about it." Too much talky talky, not enough eaty eaty. I continued eating, ignoring him.

While I was eating like I hadn't eaten in a hundred years, I noticed Ciel made a slight expression of disgust at the food whenever he thought I wasn't looking.

"Do you not like it?" I questioned, the first conversation in minutes as I had been so busy eating.

"What?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The food, do you not like it?" I prodded.

"The food is fine," he said. I frowned, he obviously didn't like it. I could tell, he was doing the thing that I do when I don't like something. Oh well, sucks for him. This food is amazing. If he can't see how awesome it is, I feel bad for him and his poor tastebuds. Rolling my eyes, I continued eating my dinner. I was starving because riding the plane caused me to miss lunch and I had had a crappy airplane breakfast. Well... let's be honest, all airplane food is crappy. Even their apples are bad; I didn't even know that was possible.

Once we finished dinner, I stood up and stretched. "Thank you for dinner," I thanked with a smile, "I am now going to go play chess for approximately an hour and a half."

"You play chess?" Ciel asked surprised. A smirk tugged my lips.

"Of course I do, I love it. And I'm very good if I do say so myself," I said some-what arrogantly. Okay, very arrogantly. I can't help it; chess is one of the few things I pride myself on.

"Oh really?" Ciel asked, smirking.

"Do you want to play me?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Be prepared to lose." Good luck, sweetheart; no one's beat me in six years.

~o0o~

We were sitting in the main room at the chess table. Ciel was white and I was black. He had the best chess set I had ever seen. It was an old fashioned version with polished wood and marble chess pieces. I could barely focus on playing because I was too busy admiring its beauty. Ciel started the game by moving his pawn two spaces forward, the classic opening move for chess. I responded by moving my pawn in front of his.

We played for a several more moves. Ciel was staring intently at the board, while I was more relaxed, leaning back in my chair with my legs crossed

"So," I said. Ciel looked up at me. "Does anyone else live here, or is it just you and Sebastian?" I asked. Ciel got an almost distant look in his eye, but it disappeared before I could confirm its existence. Ciel shook his head.

"No, it's just us," Ciel answered shortly. He moved his knight so it was threatening my queen.

"Must by lonely living here by yourself," I replied idly. I moved my queen out of its way.

Ciel raised a shoulder elegantly. "It is at times, but I'm used to it," he said.

"It's not a good thing... to be used to being lonely," I said, getting a distant look in my eye.

"You speak as if you have had experience," Ciel retorted. I smiled wryly at him.

"I do," I answered dryly. Ciel quirked an eyebrow.

"How so?" He asked, moving his bishop to threaten my knight.

"After... the accident, people seemed to avoid me. I would get weird stares- which I expected, of course. I mean I _had _lost a leg. You can't just imagine people won't stare, right?" Ciel nodded in acknowledgment. "But people would make fun of me for it. They would insult me and... other things. But something almost worse than that were the pitying stares. It was like... they thought since I don't have two legs, I couldn't get on by myself. Like I needed other people to take care of me; I hated it," I sighed. I moved my knight to capture one of his pawns. "But what about you?" I asked curiously, leaning over the chessboard and interlacing my fingers.

Ciel raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?" He asked, moving his queen to threaten my king. "Check." I moved my castle in front of my king to protect him and Ciel responded by castling his king.

I sighed. "I _mean_, I can tell that you have a story... one you may not want to tell. I can tell that you're one of those people who has so much rage and sadness and emotion inside of them, that they lock it all away and pretend everything's okay." I moved my castle. Ciel looked shocked, and slightly angry.

"And how would you know that?" Ciel asked coldly, capturing my knight.

I smiled softly. "Because I'm the same." I moved my queen in front of the white king. "Checkmate." Ciel looked shocked, and not just at the fact that he had lost. He stared at the board in disbelief. "I told you I was good," I said smugly with a slight grin. I admit, I was proud of myself. Ciel was a worthy opponent, he had almost won. The only reason he didn't was because he underestimated me.

"Again," Ciel insisted. I stood up from my seat.

"Sorry fella, I'm gonna go take a shower since I was on a plane all day," I said, stretching. Ciel grumbled but nodded. "See you in the morning," I said with my back turned as I walked towards the door.

"Alright," Ciel grumbled, still upset after having lost. I smirked, he was a sore loser.

"Oh, and Ciel," I said, turning around to face him at the door.

"Yes?"

"Thank you," I said simply. Ciel looked confused for a moment, but then gave a small nod.

"You're welcome," he said. I smiled softly before closing the door. I made my way to my new room. I already felt at home here. Admittedly, it was much different from my old home- a cozy one hundred year old house; but I liked it all the same. I was actually kind of glad I had to move to England. Besides, everyone here had British accents. I _may_ have a thing for British accents; I even spoke in one half the time. I had developed one early one because of watching too much Doctor Who and Harry Potter.

Once I got back to my room, I quickly stripped myself of my clothes and went into the adjoining bathroom. The white tiles were cool on my bare foot and I shivered. There was a porcelain tub, but there was also a shower which I was grateful for; I hated baths with a passion. Who wanted to sit in their own wet dirt? Not me.

I turned on the shower and stepped in. I sighed in contentment. This felt so good to wash off all of today. Plus I felt super dirty since I spend most of the day on an airplane. I hate and love airplanes at the same time. I love being so high up, because I feel like I'm flying. But I hate how dirty they make me feel. Even if you're only on one for a few hours, once you get off you feel like you're covered in a layer of dirt. I'm by no means a clean freak, but it still grosses me out.

Turing off the water once I was done, I wrapped myself in a towel. Water dripped onto the floor from my hair, but I dismissed it. After all, it would dry. Toweling off my hair, I got dressed in one of my long t-shirts for bed.

After I got dressed in my pajamas, I went back into the- my- bathroom to brush my teeth. After I finished brushing my teeth, I took the opportunity to examine myself in the mirror.

I wasn't what most would call beautiful, I had long brown hair with side bangs. I had light freckles sprinkling across my nose. I wasn't overweight, but I wasn't stick thin; I was average. My eyes were my favorite thing about me- they were a strange silvery blue that all the women in my family had. Scrunching up my nose, I gazed at my own appearance- a rare display of vanity. I suppose I was pretty, in my own way of course.

I stepped out of the bathroom, closing the door behind me, before looking around my room. It was truly beautiful, just like everything else in this manor. This place was better than a five star hotel. There was great food- a major plus in my book- a great bathroom, a comfy bed, and a sarcastic asshole to spend company with. This is gonna be a_ lot_ of fun.

I turned out the light in my room and ran to my bed with the lights off, trying to outrun the monsters. Don't even pretend you don't do it. Those monsters will freaking eat me.

Once I reached the safety of my bed, I unplugged my Ipod and checked the time. It was only nine o'clock. I'm pathetic... I was already so tired. As if to prove my point, I yawned. In my defense, I was in a different country a day ago, so I can blame jet lag.

I was even too tired to play chess on my Ipod. Damn... that almost never happens. I once stayed up till three in the morning before playing chess. _Oh well, may as well go to sleep._ I put my Ipod on my nightstand and put my electric blue retainer in.

I snuggled back down under the covers. This bed was _so_ comfy, it was like a cocoon of clouds. I drowsily smiled; I liked this place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi again! In case you're wondering, this is my first story in first person so I'm not all that experienced. But I like it this way.

In case you haven't noticed, Thea is a bit insane. She's meant to be though. I originally wanted her to be like a fangirl, so I'm making her crazy. But she can go from being her normal self to being all philosophical- kind of like I do. It may not make that much sense, but I'm trying.

Reviews:

RuhGezini\- Thank you so much!That made my day. I was actually wondering if this story was absolute crap or not. I really didn't know.

FluffyDarkUnicorn- For one, I love your username. I'm so sorry about the errors, If you point them out, I'll fix them straight away. I'll try to keep it under control, but it'll get darker later on. Also, she is a bit fangirl-ish as I said before. That's just part of her personality.

By the way, if you spot any grammar or punctuation errors, please tell me! I'm not very good at proof reading so please excuse me!

Anyway, PLEASE REVEIW!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I spent the next couple days peacefully, exploring the manor, and annoying Ciel as much as possible. I got the feeling that he liked me; we did hang out a lot. I found out that he liked to read almost as much as I did. Almost being the key word there. We also ended up playing many games of chess; some I won, some he won. We were pretty much equal; but I was just happy to have a worthy opponent. I hadn't seen much of Sebastian, though I found out he liked cats. That was a definite plus in my book.

That morning I woke up to Sebastian opening my door. "It's time to get up Miss Thea," Sebastian said. I responded by throwing a pillow at him without even looking up. I didn't hear a tell-tale thud, so he must unfortunately have dodged it.

"Five more minutes..." I mumbled. It was too early. Sebastian sighed like I was exasperating him, which I probably was. Meh, I can't find it in me to care.

"Oh well," he sighed, not sounding too upset about it. He then ripped the cozy, warm blankets away from me. Evil! Evil, sadistic being! You don't just take the covers away from a sleepy teenager! We are dangerous; we can- and will- attack you.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, sitting straight up. I tried to glare at him, but the sunlight was too much for my bleary eyes. "Humph, fine." I don't need the blankets. I laid back down on my stomach and buried my face in my pillow. So comfy... I could stay here all day...

"Oh dear, I suppose I will just have to tell the young master that you don't want to go to London today," Sebastian commented, slowly walking towards the door.

"Wait!" I yelled, sitting bolt up in bed. Maybe I won't spend all day in bed...

"Yes?" Sebastian asked, pausing by the door.

"Did you say London?" I demanded eagerly. If I was going to get out of bed for something, that was it.

"Yes, I did. But if you're too tired to go, I may as well tell the young master..." Sebastian said, turning his head to look at me with a false air of innocence.

"I'm not too tired!" I jumped out of bed. "Just let me get dressed!" I ran towards the bathroom and I heard a chuckle behind me as I slammed the door.

I brushed my teeth and my hair, yanking tangles out of my hair with my brush roughly. After getting dressed as fast as humanly possible, Sebastian was already gone so I assumed he had gone downstairs to Ciel. I quickly grabbed my bag which had my wallet, and my oh-so-precious Ipod. I don't go anywhere without it. It has music, games, and internet. That's all of my favorite things in one.

I quickly ran downstairs to the foyer to see Ciel waiting for me. I grinned at him and launched myself off the stairs onto the floor.

"So, we're going to London?" I asked excitedly. Ciel smirked at my child-like enthusiasm.

"Yes," he said, still smirking, "I need to do something in London, and I thought you'd like to come."

"Hell yeah, I'd like to come!" I exclaimed, "I've never been!" My mind exploded with all the places I could drag him too. Doctor Who store! Best. Thing. Ever! I've never been, but I may as well since I was going to the capital of England. I love Doctor Who, and all shows on BBC. That's one reason I was so glad to move to England; BBC rocks.

Ciel opened the door and I ran outside in the fresh air, hopped up on energy. Ciel smirked at me and then followed after me. Realizing I had no idea where to go, I waited until Ciel caught up and then started to follow him.

He led me to what I assumed was a very nice sports car. I'm not much of a car person, so I can't tell. A car is a car to me.

After unlocking the doors, I almost got in the driver's seat- forgetting I was in England- but I fixed my mistake and got in the passenger seat.

After we'd both settled, Ciel inquired, "Still not used to England yet?" I laughed.

"No, when I was riding the cab, I was so confused. I kept forgetting that you guys drive on the left side of the road here," I answered. Ciel smirked in response. I noticed he did that a lot. He never smiled, only smirked. It was kind of strange, but also very welcome. It was nice to finally meet someone as sarcastic as myself. It was also nice to see that he didn't seem to care at all.

Looking at him, I wondered why I felt so comfortable around him. I rarely show my true (completely insane) side to people, unless they were family. I suppose he was technically family, but that's beside the point. I was usually very quiet and polite to people I just met a few days ago; I wasn't with him. Why was that? What about him made him so special? I didn't know.

The trip to London took about half and hour, that time I spent staring out the window at the scenery. Something was oddly soothing about looking out at passing scenery to me. Maybe it was how you could see so many things. Maybe it was looking at nature. Whatever it was, I liked it. Riding in a car also gave me ideas for books and characters. I'm not sure why, but I always ended up writing for hours after a long car ride.

Once we arrived, Ciel parked the car and let me out. I gave a wow in amazement. The city was huge, for one. Buildings rose into the sky, far beyond the ground. There were also a load of people walking around. That, I wasn't a very big fan of; I don't like large crowds. Or the majority of the human population, for that matter.

Feeling like I was going to get lost, I took hold of the end of Ciel's jacket, and let him anchor me in the crowd. He didn't react to me keeping hold of him, but continued moving against the tide of people until we reached a shop. It just happened to be a book store.

"Can we go in here?" I asked excitedly, peering into the shop. Ciel looked slightly surprised at the fact that this was my first time in London, and I wanted to go in a book store that I could go in literally anywhere.

"Of course," he said smoothly after a moment.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I hugged him quickly out of excitement, not noticing how he stiffened under my touch before running into the store. I was intent on spending every last dollar I had in here. Wait... Doctor Who store. Crap. Oh well, I'll save a little for it.

I started looking at the shelves, probably looking like some crazed book stalker. I don't know if that's even a thing. If it is, that's what I am.

I started making a stack in my arms. Most of the books I picked up were fantasy, but there were a few realistic fiction and sci-fy. But I only looked at the books with cool covers. You know how they always say 'Never judge a book by its cover'? That is complete bullshit. _Always_ judge a book by its cover. Good books have good covers; just saying.

I stopped picking up books in that aisle once I had about twenty in my arms. Oh well, next aisle! I went into the manga aisle, and picked up a couple of Shingeki no Kyojin books. That's my favorite manga (and anime); Levi is a boss.

I was looking at the covers of Fullmetal Alchemist when Ciel came up behind me.

"Do you need help with that?" Ciel asked, eying the pile in my arms with disbelief. It was so high that I had to rest my chin on it so it wouldn't fall. I grinned at him, he obviously underestimated my book-buying skills.

"Nope," I said, popping the 'p', "I'm good." Ciel raised his eyebrows, not believing me. I rolled my eyes at him before turning back to the manga. Whether he believed it or not, I could actually hold twice this many books. It came from a long practice of mass book buying- which I was the master of. I was the official queen of books, that nobody can deny.

Ciel sighed at me before he took half my books away.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, whipping around, and almost dropped the rest of my books. "I had those!"

"You obviously needed help," Ciel said dryly, "Besides, this way you can hold more books." I gave him a once over, considering him.

"Hmm... You may have a point. I like the way you think." I eyed him critically. "But," I said, cheerful once more, "let's get tea. You can't get books without having tea." I started dragging him towards the cafe. I kind of felt bad about how much I was dragging him around... Oh well. It was his own fault for bringing me in a bookstore.

I quickly ordered some Chai tea for myself- Ciel didn't want any, so I didn't get him any- and an apple pastry. I sat down at our table with my drink, and my books in a stack. Ciel was going through the first volume of Shingeki No Kyojin; he had a bewildered expression on his face.

"Why are these people naked?" Ciel inquired, befuddled. I choked on my tea. "And why are they eating people? Why are you getting a book about naked cannibals?" I took a moment to properly swallow my tea and not spit it all over him. I was shaking with laughter, and clutching my stomach.

"Ciel," I said, still chuckling, "Those are titans. Titans are creatures that like to eat people and they can be 50 meters tall. They're naked because they aren't human."

"Oh," Ciel said, still looking confused as to why I chose to read such things. He _obviously_ didn't know who Levi was.

"So," Ciel said as I bit into my pastry, "Are you really going to buy all of these?" I swallowed before answering. Dang, that pastry was good.

"Nah, I'm going to sort through them until I reach the top five or less," I said nonchalantly, "I wish I could buy all of them but I can't. I always try to buy only five." At least that was the plan. It never worked out like that though; books were just too much I can't possibly resist them.

Ciel didn't say anything to that, he just silently picked up the entire stack of books and started walking towards the register. What he was doing slowly processed through my head, and I immediately ran after him.

"Ciel!" I called, getting strange looks from the customers. "You can't just do that!" He ignored me, and continued striding towards the registers. I growled to myself and increased my pace, until I caught up to him.

"Hey," I poked him in the shoulder, "Don't ignore me." My instructions went unheeded, as he went to a register and put all the books down.

"Are you buying all of these today?" The register woman asked. A quick look at her name tag told me it was Teresa.

"No."

"Yes," Ciel said, at the same time I said no. Teresa looked confused, but then Ciel handed her his credit card. I was helpless as she started to scan the books, and put them in a bag. All the while, I glared at Ciel.

"Yes?" Ciel inquired, raising an eyebrow at him. Dammit, don't be cute. I'm trying to be mad. A conflicted expression made its way to my face. I give up. I sighed, and then hugged him with a huge smile.

"Thank you!" I said cheerfully. This time I did notice Ciel stiffening.

"Oh," I said, releasing him, "Sorry. I really like hugging people, which you may have noticed," I said sheepishly, shrinking into myself a little.

"No..." Ciel said, relaxing a little, now that I wasn't clinging to him, "It's alright. I'm just not used to it." I frowned in understanding. Of course he wasn't used to being hugged. The only person in the house was Sebastian, and there was something behind that eye patch. Something had hurt him in his life.

"Thank you, though," I said with a smile.

"You're welcome, Thea," Ciel said with a half-smile, "Is there anywhere else you'd like to go?" I considered for a moment.

"Well," I said slowly, "There is one place..."

Fifteen minutes later we ended up in front of the Doctor Who store. Ciel raised an eyebrow.

"What is this place?" He asked. I gaped at him. What!

"You don't know what Doctor Who is?" I demanded in disbelief. Ciel gave a half shrug.

"I've heard of it vaguely, but I've never seen it," he answered casually. "What?" Ciel asked, seeing my expression of horror.

"Okay, I'm so sorry about your life. We need to watch it when we get home," I deadpanned, taking hold of his shoulders, and staring him dead in the eye.

"Home?" Ciel asked with a quirk of his eyebrow. I blushed slightly, before letting go of him. I cleared my throat.

"Just a slip of the tongue. Come on!" I rushed into the store before Ciel could see my blush. Ciel followed after me, chuckling to himself.

This store had everything! They had full suits of armor for cyberman, gas masks, TARDISes, everything! Ciel stood in the corner, while I gaped at everything like I was a kid in a candy store- which I kind of was. This place was amazing!

It took no time at all to fill a shopping bag with merchandise. I was now sitting on a bench in the store with Ciel, trying to decide what to buy. I stared gravely at the bag. It was so hard... I wanted all of it! Hmm... This may be the hardest decision of my entire life.

Ciel sighed, "You do realize you can get as much as you want." I turned my head to look at him.

"No, I can't. And _I'm_ buying this," I said sternly. I didn't want him buying everything for me. I had more than enough money to buy it on my own.

"Oh really?" Ciel got the 'challenge accepted' look on his face. I silently glared at him with a warning in my eyes.

"Don't..." I was too late. He had already picked up the bag.

"Ciel!" Dammit, I don't want to make a habit of this! "Why do you keep doing this? I have plenty of money!"

"Because it's your first day in London so you can do whatever you want. Plus... I like you," Ciel said bluntly. I stopped in my tracks. Ciel didn't seem like the kind of person who liked people easily. A small smile grew on my lips. Ciel ignored me, and placed the bag in front of the cashier.

As the cashier started scanning the items, I just stayed next to Ciel, feeling happier than I had felt in a while. I was glad I had moved here after all, plus I hadn't had any 'dreams' since I had come here. That I was happy about.

After Ciel had paid for my merchandise, we walked outside and dropped the bags in the car. I was exuberant. This was quite possibly the best day I have had in quite a while. This even surpassed the day I arrived.

"So, what was it that you needed to come here for?" I asked Ciel as we walked on the sidewalk.

"I need to check on something," Ciel said evasively. I raised an eyebrow. _What could it possibly be that he didn't want to talk about?_ I decided not to press; I know I hated it when people did that to me. We soon arrived at an unfamiliar building, with skulls and an open coffin out front. The sign out front said 'Undertaker' in big, white letters. I assumed it was a Halloween store, or the owner had a weird sense of humor. Either way I knew I would like them.

"Wait here," Ciel said before going inside. Hey! That wasn't fair, I wanted to go! I wonder what he's here for, anyway? Huffing, I obeyed and stood outside, looking at my surroundings.

I jumped when I suddenly heard loud laughter coming from inside. _What the actual hell was that?_ The laughter was so loud that the building shook in its foundation. Curious, I cracked the door and peered inside. My eyes widened at the scene that awaited me.

There was a man with strange, silver hair who was half-laying on a desk weak with laughter. Ciel was standing impatiently, his hands clasped behind his back facing away from me

"Well... you _see,_" the strange man started to drawl, but then stopped when he saw me. "_Ooohhh_, Earl? It looks like we have some company~" he said, pointed a black fingernail at me. Ciel spun on his heel to face me with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Thea!" Ciel said, sounding slightly irritated, "I told you to wait outside." I just gave him a look.

"That was before I heard insanely loud laughter coming from inside this building," I drawled, raising an eyebrow. The strange man burst into another fit of laughing at that- albeit, smaller. "Who's he?" I asked Ciel. Ciel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"That's the Undertaker. Undertaker, Thea. Thea, Undertaker," Ciel introduced, still pinching the bridge of his nose. The Undertaker stood up. Now that I was closer, I could see that he had a large scar running across his face. Also, now I could see his hair in all of its beauty. I gaped at it. His hair was beautiful.

"Oh my god; your hair is totally fabulous," I announced. Ciel groaned aloud, probably at my strange greeting. But the Undertaker just grinned at me.

"Interesting companion you have here..." The Undertaker said with a grin. I'm beginning to think that grin is stuck on his face. He also had a rather creepy way of talking, but I liked him nevertheless.

"Tch. But do you have the information on the missing girls?" Ciel asked impatiently, his arms crossed in front of him.

"Of course, Earl~" Undertaker answered with his perpetual grin.

"What missing girls?" I interrupted, but Ciel didn't seem to mind.

"Girls from ages 12-17 have been going missing from their bed without anyone seeing anything. Their bodies are always found the next day. The police are at a loss," Ciel explained in a monotone voice.

"But why are you looking into it?" I asked. The Undertaker chuckled.

"The Earl here deals with the underworld... He exterminates rats from London~" Undertaker explained laughingly. My eyebrows shot up. Ciel was still standing straight up, not looking at me. That was quite a responsibility, especially for a teenager who wasn't much older than me.

"So," Ciel said roughly, "Do you have the information or not?"

"So impatient~" Undertaker said, smiling, "Of course I do... The girls' bodies show signs of being tortured before being... disposed of, but the killer was careful. They didn't leave anything behind~"

"So, you've been useless," Ciel said, frustrated. He started walking angrily towards the door.

"I didn't say that~~" The Undertaker laughed. Ciel froze, his back as straight as an arrow.

"Then what can you tell me?" He demanded, turning around.

"There are no clues left behind so they have to be at least semi-intelligent. Since they were tortured extensively you can assume that they have a private place nearby so nobody will hear screaming. It should be away from everything, but it also has to be close enough because the bodies are always found at dawn. Did I miss anything?" I asked airily, looking between Ciel and the Undertaker. Ciel stared at me with his jaw agape, while the Undertaker just giggled at me.

"Young Miss is quite interesting indeed," Undertaker giggled, tilting his head to look at me.

"How did you..." Ciel began, before stopping and shaking his head, "Never mind. Thank you Undertaker, you were most helpful." Ciel nodded politely to him, before starting to walk out.

"There is one more thing Earl..." Undertaker drawled, tracing circles on his desk.

"What?" Ciel asked, turning around.

"There were strange wounds on the bodies... No _human_ could have made them..." Undertaker said lazily. A look of realization came over Ciel's face, and I was left out of the conversation, confused. Ciel walked out the door and I followed him, after smiling at the Undertaker.

"Take care, dearie," Undertaker called after me.

"I will," I answered, letting the door close with a click. Ciel and I walked to the car and got in.

"How did you know that?" Ciel asked me once I'd gotten settled. I shrugged.

"I'm smart," I said casually. Ciel stared at me in disbelief.

"But why... why are you so comfortable around it?" He asked. I shrugged again.

"I didn't see a body so it's still like it isn't real. I'm not really comfortable around it; I just wanted to help," I answered. Ciel stayed silent for a moment.

"Thank you," he said grudgingly. I half smiled at him.

"You're welcome."

We spent the rest of the car ride to the manor in silence; I- looking out the window- and Ciel staring at the road.

When we finally got home, I promptly went back to my room to put away all my Doctor Who merchandise and books. The majority of my things had arrived yesterday, though I was still waiting on several things- including my throwing knives. Fortunately, my books had all arrived, and I had already filled up my shelves. Putting my new purchases on them, I gazed in pride at my enormous collection.

I loved books, there was no doubt about that. Pulling out my pink cup chair, I curled up in a ball in it and began to read.

~o0o~

Several hours later I stretched out, wincing at the popping noise that my limbs made. Rubbing my eyes, I looked at the clock. My eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. _Was it really that late already?_ It was about ten o'clock- much too late to go downstairs and get dinner. Right then, my stomach chose to grumble.

I looked down at it and scowled. Luckily, I had a small stash of chocolate in my drawer out of habit. Opening it, I took out a generously-sized bar and ate it. It satisfied me for now, but I knew that once I got to sleep, my hunger wouldn't bother me anymore.

Placing my newly finished book back on the shelf, I threw away the wrapper to the candy bar. The room was dark- it being night outside already. All the lights were out, making the only source of light the moonlight streaming in through the curtains.

Padding my way over to the curtains, I threw them open- allowing me to see the night sky. Slowly unlatching the doors to the balcony, I stepped outside- clothed in only my thin nightgown that I had put on earlier.

I gazed in wonderment at the stars up above. I could actually see them since we were so far away from London. The stars painted patterns on the canvas of the heavens, and my eyes were naturally drawn to them.

The wind blew slightly, whistling in the trees and opening my mouth, I began to sing in a soft voice.

"Come little children  
I'll take thee away  
Into a land of enchantment.  
Come little children  
The time's come to play  
Here in my garden of shadows."

"Follow, sweet children  
I'll show thee the way  
Through all the pain and the sorrows.  
Weep not poor children  
For life is this way  
Murdering beauty and passions."

"Hush now, dear children  
It must be this way  
To weary of life and deceptions.  
Rest now, my children  
For soon we'll away  
Into the calm and the quiet."

"Come little children  
I'll take thee away  
Into a land of enchantment.  
Come little children  
The time's come to play  
Here in my garden of shadows."

My voice was carried away by the wind, to be taken to places that I hadn't seen. But little did I know, that a certain person was listening to me at his study window.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi again! This chapter is probably the longest I've ever written. I'm sorry if this chapter doesn't make that much sense- it kind of did whatever it wanted to do. Again, I apologize for any spelling errors. I used a grammar checker on this one and I think it's okay.

Oh by the way, Thea is actually a lot smarter than she seems~~ just a little hint.

Anywho, reviews!

RuhGezgini- Thanks so much for reviewing! I'm glad to know that you enjoy reading this story!

FluffyDarkUnicorn- Don't worry, I didn't reveal that much about Thea's past. Poor girl's had a long history. There's plenty to her that I haven't revealed. Good to know you like it!

Please R&amp;R!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I knocked on Ciel's study door in the 'Do you wanna build a snowman?' pattern. He still had yet to see Frozen. That was a major problem- which I should fix immediately. I bet money that he would like that movie- hell, everyone liked that movie. If he didn't, we would have a serious problem.

"Yes?" Ciel called from inside. I took that as permission to enter. I opened the door and closed it behind me, before going up to Ciel. He was looking at a beige file on his desk. Putting down his papers, he looked at me with a weary look on his face.

"What do you want?" Ciel said, in a long suffering voice. I smirked at him, before choosing to ignore him for a moment and take a moment to examine his office. It had navy wallpaper- just like pretty much ever other room in the manor- and wood shelves lining every wall. It was a good size, about half the size of my bedroom. There was a huge window letting in light from the evening, setting sun. Once I saw that all his shelves were filled, I decided to judge him upon his book collection; as I always did with people. I often found that if you read good books, I liked you. Therefore, I made it one of my tests for all new people I met.

I could see that not all the books were nonfiction, or even work related. _Someone wasn't always doing their work..._ I spotted quite a few classics, such as 'The Hobbit' and the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. Then I spotted some familiar titles in the corner near his desk. I bent down to look at the books closer.

"So," I said, surprised, "You've read Vivian Moore?" She wasn't a very well known author- I was surprised Ciel knew who she was.

"She's one of my favorites," Ciel said, arching an eyebrow, probably wondering why I even cared, "have you read them?"

"I've read all of them," I said proudly, straightening up to make myself appear taller. His eyebrow arched even higher, if that was even possible.

"Even 'The Caged Bird' and 'On the Other Side'?" Ciel asked, unbelieving.

"Yep," I said, popping the 'p', and smirking. Ciel looked slightly impressed as he leaned back in his chair. He had this way of sitting in a chair and automatically making it a throne.

"She's due to come out with a new book soon, but she's taking her bloody time with it..." Ciel grumbled to himself. "Anyway," Ciel sighed, rubbing one of his temples with his free hand, "What exactly did you come in here for, _besides_ looking at my book collection, and interrupting my work?"

"Ah, right," I said, remembering why I came in here in the first place, "Since you let slip the fact that you haven't seen Doctor Who, I'm taking it upon myself to educate you," I said, as professionally as I could, with a superior look on my face. It had been about a week since our trip to London, but I hadn't forgotten that one slip. Maybe he didn't think I was serious. Poor guy, I'm going to make him watch the entire seven seasons. And then maybe we can start on Sherlock... After all, there's no such thing as too much BBC!

Ciel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "I'm busy," Ciel said, trying to dismiss me by lifting up his papers to hide his face. I just rolled my eyes at his antics and took the papers away from him.

"No, you're not," I said cheerfully with a plastered smile on my face, while he glared at me, "You can work later. Doctor Who is more important." Ciel continued silently glaring at me. Fine, staring contest it is. My smile faded as I sighed at him. I was going to have to use force. I returned his silent glare for a moment, before attempting to drag him out of the room.

I managed to get him out of his seat- purely because he was caught by surprise. But then I couldn't move him at all. Let's be honest- I wasn't that big. I was five foot five, and he was at _least_ six inches taller than me. I may have been pushing on a brick wall, for all the resistance he gave me.

While I was pushing as hard as I possibly could, Ciel just smirked at me. He smirked, the little imp! He obviously wasn't even trying. Ciel was standing in a relaxed posture, like I wasn't even there. This wasn't fair! I knew I wasn't strong by any standards- plus I was missing a leg- but he had to budge at least a little.

"Dammit, fine!" I let go of him and backed off with my hands in the air in the typical surrender gesture. "I'll make you a deal," I said in a superior voice, putting my hands on my hips and pulling myself up to my full height. Ciel raised an eyebrow and leaned forward with his hands in prayer position, looking _very _interested. I smirked. _Got him._ I knew he couldn't resist a deal; that was how his mind functioned. It was also how I got him to do most of the things I wanted. He may be smart, but I could be manipulative too. "I will help you with your work for the next hour, and then you will agree to come watch Doctor Who with me." Ciel eyed me critically for a moment.

"Deal," he said, sitting back down in his chair. I sat on his desk, and looked at the papers he was working on. It was about the girls that had gone missing during the night. He had case files for every girl- so far there were seven that had gone missing.

I had always enjoyed mystery, whether reading or in real life. I would often read newspapers, or watch the news, to see if I could solve a crime before the police. It was one of my many personal entertainments.

I picked up the case file that belonged to the first girl who'd gone missing. Apparently, her parents hadn't even known she was gone, until the next morning. The parents said in the report that she wasn't the type to sneak out at night. She hadn't had many friends and preferred to read instead of party and get drunk. _This girl was _obviously _introverted; how had she even been kidnapped?_ There was no sign of a struggle in the crime scene photos, so we could rule out being kidnapped. It was more likely that she was lured out. _But what could tempt a young girl to go outside at night? _

As I read all the case files, I noticed something about all of the victims.

"Hey, Ciel," I said. He looked up. "I just realized that there's a pattern here." I put all the case files on his desk. "All of these girls are extremely introverted," I explained gravely. Ciel's eyebrows shot up as he examined all the descriptions.

"You're right," he said, with a furrowed brow. Being introverted meant that you turned inward to yourself. Introverts were typically quiet around people they didn't know, and they had to expend energy when socializing. After socializing for a long time, they usually had to go recuperate. I know this because I'm an introvert- even if it may not seem like it at times. I was usually only my normal self around people I felt comfortable with and had known for a long time. I still had no idea what made Ciel an exception to that rule.

"But then what on Earth could have made them go outside?" I pondered to myself. Typically, introverted personalities didn't like to party. None of them had many friends, so that ruled that out. A realization that had long been on my own thoughts struck me, and I dropped the paper I was holding.

"What?" Ciel asked me, ignoring the paper that was falling to the floor. I avoided his gaze as I picked it up off the ground. "What?" Ciel prompted again.

"It's just," I took a shuddering breath, "Since introverts tend to turn inwards, that means they notice more. They see things that other people pass by. What if they saw something they weren't supposed to… that wasn't quite... possible. What if they saw it again, and then wanted to find out what it was." Ciel had a blank expression on his face. "Never mind, It's silly," I muttered, looking down at the papers. Of course, he wouldn't believe in magic, hardly anybody did anymore. A rather stupid way of thinking in my opinion; humans typically believe that if they can't see it, it doesn't exist.

"No," Ciel said, my head snapping up to look at him, "You may be right. There are things that nobody can explain in this world. This may be one of them." I fought to keep a smile off my face. It gave me a sense of pride to know Ciel valued my opinion and my ideas. Plus it was good to know he didn't _dis_believe in magic. We were making progress on the case. The sooner the culprit was caught, the sooner other girls would be safe. I looked at the clock on the wall.

"Your hour is up!" I sang, shutting the file I was looking at. It was seven twenty right now. We had already had dinner, so I could force Ciel to watch Doctor Who with me with no interruptions. Ciel grumbled, but stood up, albeit grudgingly. A deal was a deal; I guess he thought I was joking. I never joke about Doctor Who. Taking his hand, I started to drag him towards the main room. He put up surprisingly little resistance. I had expected him to resist at least a _little_.

Once we got there, I sat him down on the couch and got the remote, before plopping myself right next to him. I started the first episode 'Rose', and snuggled under a blanket. The sectional was extremely comfy. Plus we were watching my favorite show ever that I have seen a billion times.

Six episodes later I was snuggled up to Ciel, struggling not to fall asleep. I was half-laying on him with his arm around me. I blamed our position on the fact that I was extremely tired. I knew I wouldn't have done this had I had all of my senses. Ciel was hooked, I could tell. Everyone got hooked in the end. If you didn't, that wasn't normal. I buried my face in the pillow in his lap, while he played with my medium length brown hair. Him playing with my hair was oddly soothing. Maybe just five minutes...

I was jolted away half an hour later, by Ciel, when the episode ended. My bleary eyes couldn't tell the time, but it looked like it was almost one in the morning.

"Come on, it's time to get up," Ciel told me. I groaned, and responded by pressing my head into his chest harder. "Thea, you have to get up," Ciel said impatiently.

"Can't I just sleep here?" I asked, almost pleading. I didn't want to get up, I was way too sleepy.

"No, Thea, " Ciel said, rolling his eyes, "You can't." Grumbling, I pulled away from him so he could get up, but then held out my arms like a child waiting to be picked up. Ciel sighed, but he picked me up anyway, bride-style. Smiling, I wrapped my arms around his neck like I when I was little.

I smiled sleepily in his arms as he carried me to my room. Snuggling up to him, I got closer. _He's so warm..._ _I want to be near him more_. I blamed my thoughts on the fact that I was tired and most likely wouldn't even be able to walk on my own at the moment. When we reached my room, he took off my jacket, and tucked me in bed. As he was preparing to leave, I caught his wrist.

"Stay with me," I yawned sleepily, "tonight?" I couldn't see his face, but he sat down on the bed. Ciel got under the covers with me after taking off his jacket. I smiled sleepily to myself, as I felt the bed dip under his weight, when he laid down next to me. I immediately snuggled up to him, and wrapped my arms around me. I always got cuddly when I was tired. It definitely wasn't because I liked him- that definitely couldn't be it. Right? I didn't care right now, even though I knew I would in the morning. Right now just felt too perfect.

I smiled again as I felt his arms wrap around me in response. I liked this, it had been a long time since I had gotten to be with someone like this... I drifted off like that, and had the best sleep I have ever had in years.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey, I'm really sorry this is so short. I don't even have an excuse for it. Oh well... Anyway, hope you liked it! I found out that I really suck at writing kind-of fluff. Or any kind of fluff. I'm more of a 'sarcastic asshole' kind of a person. Probably because I am one. Next chapter will be out soon!

Reviews:

Fluffydarkunicorn- Thanks again for reviews. And yes, Ciel is a demon, Thea just doesn't know it yet.

By the way, the next chapter may take a while because my computer's giving me trouble. Plus Halloween. ~~~ ;)~~~~ Halloween's my favorite holiday ever! I'm being the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland but I'm going to school dressed as the female Undertaker. Undertaker rules!

Please R&amp;R!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I woke up to sunlight streaming in the window. Frowning, I buried my head into my warm pillow. _I'm _so_ comfy…_ But I didn't understand why my pillow was moving slowly up and down. _Pillows aren't supposed to do that..._ Not caring, I hugged my pillow tighter. Suddenly, it moved roughly. I frowned as I held even tighter to it. Suddenly, I heard a sigh come from above me.

"Are you going to let me go, or do you intend to keep me here all day," Ciel's irritated voice said. My eyes sprang open as I noticed the position we were in. My legs were wrapped around his and my arms were wrapped around his torso. I had completely entangled our limbs while I was asleep and wrapped myself around him. My eyes widened at our position, but I didn't say anything besides an, "Uhhhh..." Ciel smirked at me as I rapidly untangled myself from him and scooted to the other side of the bed.

Ciel arched an eyebrow at my blush. I immediately dropped my gaze and quickly hopped out of bed, walking stiffly to the bathroom- trying my absolute hardest to get away from him. Once I had gotten to the bathroom, I let my blush fully encompass my face, as I faced the mirror. This was huge for me since I wasn't a very big blusher- it took a lot to get _me_ to blush.

_I can not believe I just did that! How could I let him hold me?_ My eyes widened in realization. _Dammit, I do not have a crush!_ Supporting myself against the sink, I ran a hand through my messy hair. _No I don't._ I haven't had a crush since I was seven years old. Crushes are for children, and I am most certainly not a child. Not anymore.

Trying to keep my mind off of it, I quickly brushed my teeth and got ready. When I went back into my room to get dressed, Ciel was already gone. I was extremely grateful for that at least. I quickly got dressed in jeans in an Avengers t-shirt and grabbed my Ipod. I was going exploring today. Even though I had been living here for two weeks, I still hadn't seen most of the house. I still got lost sometimes; it was hard not to in this enormous manor.

I quietly creaked open my door and immediately started to wander down the hall. I just began to peek in every door that was unfamiliar. I gazed around the dim hall that was lit with sconces. The manor was old- I knew that at least. Everything matched perfectly together and everything was well chosen. Ciel had taste at least; I admired him for that. You respect a man with style.

The first few doors I came upon were bare and a relatively quick search revealed nothing of interest. But the forth door I came to held a surprise. Inside the room was an old piano that was polished to perfection. Drawn to it, like an insect to honey, I sat down on the piano bench. I glossed my fingers over the keys, taking in its beauty.

It was rare that I got to play the piano. I love to do it, I just rarely got the chance. My old home was too small to house a full piano so I couldn't play as often as I had liked. I had occasionally gone over to a friend's house who had had one, but that was the only time I got to play. But, aside from that, I was very good.

As if I was in a trance, I put my fingers over the keys and started to play a familiar song.

Music filled the room of a song that I memorized long ago. It was called 'Regret Message'. As the music began to crescendo, I started to sing.

"In a town by a port looking out onto the sea  
Alone on the sand stands a girl crying.  
And a custom still persists,  
And today it still exists,  
Traditions from long long ago."

"'Write down a wish on a piece of parchment,  
Then place it in a bottle'.  
If you let it flow,  
Then someday it will grow,  
And your heart's desire will be real.

"Flow along, glass bottle, and please don't take too long,  
'Cause what I want the most is in that message.  
And on the other side of this sunset,  
Right there, my wish will disappear."

"You would always do everything I asked you to  
Really any request of mine yet and I still,  
Was a spoilt, selfish brat, and I really regret that,  
I always caused problems for you.

"You who granted me every single wish  
Are no longer here with me.  
On this blue sea, will all my feelings,  
Arrive to where you are?"

"Flow along, little wish, and please don't take too long,  
To take away my tears and all my regret,  
It was too late by then, to fix my sins,  
When they'd taken you far from me."

"Flow along, glass bottle, and please don't take too long,  
'Cause what I want the most is in that message.  
And on the other side of this sunset,  
Right there, my wish will disappear."

"Flow along, little wish, and please don't take too long,  
To take away my tears and all my regret,  
"If we're ever reborn, I hope in my next life..."  
That we'll be twins again."

As I sang the last verse, I realized that there was a single tear streaming down my face. Reaching up, I touched my face to see salty wetness rub off on my finger. Fascinated, I held the tear to the light, admiring it. _A tear shed out of sadness for one so long lost…_ I thought idly.

"You have a beautiful voice," a familiar voice said behind me. Quickly turning around, I slammed the key cover down on the piano. Ciel walked over to me and took my hands away from my face. "It's alright," Ciel reassured me, lifting my chin with his finger. I resisted the urge to wipe away the track the tear must have made. I hated myself slightly for doing this- making myself appear weak.

"I'm sorry," I muttered, turning my head away from him.

"For what?" Ciel asked. I could already visualize him cocking an eyebrow at that. _I was spending too much time around him_. I gestured to myself.

"For you having to see this," I said, ashamed. I wasn't usually one to cry often- and almost never just after something happened. I usually had a delayed reaction, but that also meant that memories had a bit impact on me. As I finished my sentence, Ciel's jaw tightened before gripping my jaw and forcefully turning my head so I had to face him. I tensed before relaxing- it was only Ciel, he wouldn't hurt me.

"You shouldn't be ashamed of this," Ciel said forcefully, "This is okay. It is okay to be weak every once in a while. It is impossible to be strong all the time- no matter how much you try. Even I have my moments." I smile slightly at that- I couldn't imagine Ciel ever acting weak under any circumstance.

"Thank you," I said. Ciel relaxed his grip and let go of me.

"You're welcome," Ciel said, standing up, "Now, don't imagine I'm going to do this for all of your troubles." I smiled at that as Ciel held out his hand to help me up. I took it even though I could have done it on my own. It was nice to have help once in a while. "What was it that you were doing exactly down here?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was exploring," I explained. Ciel's eyebrow arched even higher. "I haven't been everywhere yet. I wanted to explore and see if I could find anything in here." Ciel half shrugged, nonchalantly, before turning his head away.

"Just make sure not to get lost," Ciel said, indifferently. I smiled at him. I would most definitely get lost and have to have either him or Sebastian come get me.

"I'll be sure to do so," I said playfully, recovered from my earlier outburst.

"Tch," Ciel scoffed. But I could see a small smirk on his lips. I smiled softly to myself. I loved our interactions. I liked how we were sarcastic to each other and how I was beginning to understand Ciel a little more each day. I didn't know a lot about him, but I was getting better at reading his minute expressions. How he got this look in his eye whenever he was irritated, or how he always smirked in this particular way when he was happy. It was almost frightening how much I found myself examining him and everything that he did.

Ciel stopped at his study door. "Have fun exploring, I'll see you at dinner," Ciel said, walking into his study.

"I will. See you later," I called after him. The door closed, but not before I saw the smirk he sent me as an answer.

I began my search with significantly less energy than from before. This time I started in the other direction, moving away from the stairs. The first couple rooms didn't have much in them, only a few pieces of sheet-covered furniture. But then the third door I came to was locked.

Immediately curious, I took out a bobby pin from my hair that I kept just for an occasion like this, and began to pick the lock.

It only took me twenty seconds, as the lock wasn't very good or even new. Ciel obviously thought no one would dare going in. This room held a surprise. It had an antique-looking bed and an old fashioned wardrobe that could have come out from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Everything was covered in a layer of dust as if no one had come in for a while.

There was an old book on the desk by the window that looked like it had been leafed through many times. Curious, I wandered over to it and began to open it. The old leather creaked, and for a moment I was worried I was going to rip it. But curiosity got the better of me and I opened it all the way. On the first page there was a picture of a little boy who looked quite a lot like a younger Ciel. He was smiling cheerfully next to a young girl who's smile mirrored his. Behind them stood a man and a woman holding hands and a woman in red standing next to them. I presumed the man and woman were married since they were holding hands; plus there was just a look in their eyes that I had seen in my parents' eyes. They look that hold unspoken words of love and emotion. It was a special look of true love, and not needing words to tell how much they loved each other.

I turned to the next page. The young boy and girl were sitting on a rug in front of the fire playing with a toy boat. Their parents were sitting in the background talking to one another over tea. I smiled at the cheerful scene. They were obviously extremely happy with childish glee. I missed the days when I was like that... But everyone had to grow up. Some sooner than others.

I continued flipping through the book. There were many pictures of the young boy; sometimes he was with his parents or the young girl, and sometimes he was with the red lady- whom I presumed to be his aunt. There were pictures of them at picnics, family gathering, balls- but mostly just them being a family. Everyone was always smiling cheerfully.

But then all those pictures abruptly stopped. There was only one after that. The boy only younger than me by a few years standing with an unsmiling expression on his face. In the background there was a dark figure- indistinct in the lighting. But there was something familiar about the boy... he was wearing an eye patch.

I stared, trembling, at the photo. This wasn't possible... it had to be some other boy... This was from over two hundred years ago! It couldn't be the same person. But the similarities made themselves known in my mind. The dark figure...it could be Sebastian. The unsmiling expression- I had already known Ciel has a dark past. But all of that could be explained away, none of it meant anything. But the eye patch was something I couldn't will away no matter how hard I tried. It was just too much.

No, it couldn't be. Slamming the book shut, I stalked out of the room. I closed the door, not bothering to lock it behind me. If Ciel found out I was in there, he could confront me about it. I shook my head, ridding myself of these thoughts. Those photos didn't mean anything! They could be anyone. And lots of people had an eye patch. It couldn't possibly be _that_ uncommon.

Unable to get rid of my bad feeling, I quickened my footsteps, and practically ran to my room and locked the door behind me. I admit I was terrified, and the worst part was that I didn't even know why. The logical part of my brain- which, I admit, wasn't very large- told me that I was being irrational, of _course _it couldn't be real. The other part was trying to figure out how exactly he was still alive. The only answer I could think of is that he wasn't entirely human. _If he wasn't human, then what was he?_

No. I _refused_ to believe that the Ciel I've grown fond of is not human. It wasn't possible. _Wasn't it? _I knew that there were things that couldn't be explained by normal human logic, but was this one of them?

Giving up on this train of thought I laid in my bed, despite the fact that it was only late afternoon. I refused to go to dinner and even ignored Sebastian when he came to my door, asking if I was alright. I didn't want to see anyone right now. I tried to sleep despite my rampaging train of thought- but little did I know that my sleep would be as restless as my conscious mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi guys! I'm so glad I updated this again! It was freezing here for Halloween, it was snowing and hailing. It was hell. But fun!~~ ;) I went with my friend who was a broken china doll and I was the queen of hearts. It was a ton of fun!

Anywho, I hope you guys like this chapter. I know Ciel was a little OOC but I hope it's alright. I originally had a plan for this chapter, but it wasn't long enough so I added in a bunch of stuff. I hope it makes sense!

By the way, the song that Thea sang was 'Regret Message' by Ketsuban. It's the third part in the Story of Evil vocaloids. I love all the songs in it, but Servant of Evil is my favorite! I always cry when I listen to it. I can't even help it.

Reviews:

Esmereildia: I'm glad you like this fic, and yeah, Ciel is a demon. I didn't want a completely AU story- I prefer it when they keep the characters' species. Plus it makes it more fun to write.

FluffyDarkUnicorn: I'm glad you liked the chapter! :) I'm glad you like Thea and Ciel together, I don't think I'm very good at writing that sort of thing so it's good to hear. And yeah, I have a plan where Ciel saves Thea... hehehe... I do have some action planned, but I'm kind of setting up characters AKA bullcrapping my way through this. But it's fun! ;)

Boo's Castle: I'm glad you think I did well with the fluff! Thanks so much! I'm glad you like it. :)

Please R&amp;R!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_Darkness surrounded the blood-soaked altar where the boy stood. "You have paid a great sacrifice. You are free to decide whether to make a covenant with me and get your wishes granted or not. The fee for crossing has already been well paid." The demon said in a sly tone, in a decidedly male voice. The boy stared, wide-eyed, with a crazed look in his eye. He had gone through so much..._

_ "I- I- I want power... Power to take vengeance upon those who put us through all this!" The boy shouted frantically. The demon chuckled as the satanic worshipers were shouting for someone to shut the boy up. "Devil! I'll make a covenant with you!" He yelled desperately._

_ "So, you will cast off the light and choose the road to hell... Fine. Then let us carve the mark of the covenant onto our bodies," the demon said smoothly in an evil voice, "The more conspicuous it's location, the greater the power you will be able to wield. Now where do-" The demon was cut off as the boy shouted._

_ "I want power greater than anyone else!" The demon was silent for a moment before chuckling._

_ "Your small frame belies your immense greed. Well, then!" The demon said, "The mark shall reside on that great big eye of yours, which reflects a hopeless world!" The boy screamed at the immense pain tearing through his eyeball. _

I woke up to screams of terror and pain before realizing that I was the one screaming. I panted, clutching the bed sheets in between my clenched fists. My chest heaved as I desperately gasped for lost breath. That was by far the worst nightmare I have ever had. I found myself hoping it was only a nightmare and not one of my... visions. If that had actually happened... I shuddered at the thought.

I looked around the dark room- only to see a figure standing next to my bed. I shrieked in terror and tried to hide away before I realized it was only Ciel.

"What's wrong?" Ciel asked, concerned, moving closer to the bed. Without answering I threw my arms around him and sobbed without restraint. He immediately stiffened, but I didn't care at the moment.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry," I kept muttering in his ear between sobs. He stood stiffly, as if unsure of what exactly to do with a crying female. Eventually, he put his arms around me and relaxed his posture. I felt bad about doing this to him once I looked at the clock; it was almost two in the morning. I hoped I hadn't woken him up this early.

"Shhh, it's okay," Ciel reassured, rubbing little circles into my back, "It's not real," he said. I sobbed even harder at that. _But what if it was?_ Filled with that thought, I hit down on my clenched fist, futilely trying to stifle my sobs. _Oh, Ciel… What have you been through?_

Eventually I quieted down besides the occasional sniffle. I looked regretfully at Ciel's shirt, I had ruined it with tears. Ciel continued rubbing circles into my back soothingly as I calmed down.

"I'm sorry," I sniffled, looking down.

"You don't need to be sorry. Do you want to tell me about it?" Ciel asked softly. _But I do need to be sorry… It happened to you…_ I just shook my head into his shoulder and he didn't press me for details. He was being kinder to me than he usually was. It was as if he has had experience with this type of thing before- that he understood. Well, he had his own demons; I knew that much. And if my dream was true... then he had enough of his own problems. This was too confusing... I don't know what to think anymore. I didn't want to know.

I let him sit on my bed and shift me so he was cradling me in his lap. The room was silent for a moment beside my occasional sniffle before Ciel asked curiously, "Why were you saying that you were sorry?"

"I- I-" I stuttered as I looked up at him, eyes wide with unshed tears. I didn't want to tell him. It was irrational; I knew it couldn't be about him- but still... It was _possible_, stranger things have happened around me... and they had looked so similar... "It was just a dream," I muttered, looking down and curling tighter into myself. Ciel arched an eyebrow at me.

"No it wasn't," he said simply. He was right, that was not just a dream. At best, it was a nightmare. But he didn't ask for more, for an explanation. For that, I was grateful.

I've had visions ever since I was little. I would say something- just a guess, but it would turn out to be true. No one could explain it- not even my parents. Other times, I would have dreams about bigger things. Past, present, future- anything, it was frightening to others and even me. I had even predicted 9/11 when I was only four years old.

"It- it was about this boy shrouded in darkness," I said, my voice wavering- deciding to tell him, but not tell him. I cleared my throat before continuing, "Whose eyes were heavy with the weight of all he had seen. His eyes far older than he appeared, told stories of pain and darkness. He could see the world for both of its sides- dark... and light." An expression of shock flitted over Ciel's face before reverting to a stoic expression. "But the thing is," I continued, my voice steadying, "This isn't the first time I've dreamt about him. I've been seeing him my entire life." Ciel's eyebrows shot up at that.

"It was just a nightmare, don't worry," Ciel reassured. I shook my head.

"Is it?" I ask. Ciel's jaw tightened slightly. "Ciel… Ar-" Ciel stood up before I could finish the question I was dreading the answer to.

"I'll see you in the morning," he said curtly. I looked down as he left my room, shutting the door tightly behind him. I swallowed thickly before getting up out of bed to get ready and brush my teeth. I didn't even bother getting dressed- half the time I didn't anyway. I was too lazy for that.

I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep- that I knew from experience. Once I had a visi- _nightmare_, I reminded myself, I couldn't go back to sleep that night.

I sighed, looking mournfully out at the sky. It was pitch-black outside. The sun wouldn't be up for hours. Grabbing my Ipod, I quietly snuck out of my room and into the hallway. I didn't care if Ciel knew I wasn't in my room.

I silently made my way downstairs to the second floor. Walking down the hallway, I opened the large, wooden doors to the library.

The library was enormous- my idea of heaven. It was at least five times the size of my room and was filled to the brim with books. I smiled to myself, remembering the day Ciel showed it to me.

_"Do you have a library?" I asked curiously. I loved books, and since the manor was huge it made sense for there to be a library. _

_ "Yes...?" Ciel said, wondering where I was going with this. _

_ "You do?" I exclaimed, my eyes practically glowing with excitement. "Can you show me?" I asked excitedly. Ciel arched an eyebrow at my childish antics. _

_ "Of course," he said smoothly. He led me to a pair of large wooden doors that I hadn't been in yet. I excitedly opened the doors and gaped at my surroundings. This was my version of heaven. The shelves went all the way up to the ceiling and were stocked full of books. _

_ I could tell even from this distance, that not all the books were nonfiction. In fact, only a tiny portion of the books were nonfiction. Apparently, Ciel liked to read just as much as I did. There was another thing I liked about him. _

_ "Can I read them?" I asked stupidly, still staring in wonder at my surroundings. Ciel raised an eyebrow, as if wondering if I was always this stupid. Unfortunately, I was. He should know that by now._

_ "Yes," Ciel said, still looking at me like I was mentally incapacitated. I ignored him in favor of looking around the room more. Almost unconsciously, I started to compile a stack of books in my arms. Approximately thirty seconds later, I stood in front of Ciel with a pile of books up to my chin._

_ "I don't know what just happened," I said confusedly, my eyes wide. Ciel just pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. "What?" I asked him. Ciel merely shook his head at me before heading out, leaving me to my paradise. _

I quietly made my way across the room- taking care to tread carefully for some unknown reason. I was probably just being quiet since it was dark. Logically speaking, there was no reason to be quiet since Ciel was on the next floor and I had no idea where the hell Sebastian was.

Seriously, I was beginning to think that man was a ghost. You didn't see him when you needed him, and he showed up in the most unexpected and inconvenient places. He's caught me snooping a few times around the manor, but I stopped just in time. But somehow, I think he knew what I was doing. Sebastian always seemed to know everything. It was slightly disconcerting, and creepy.

I picked out a few Edgar Allen Poe books, which probably wasn't the best idea considering I just had a nightmare. Meh, whatever.

After I chose my books, I settled in my favorite chair and started to read. I had always loved Edgar Allen Poe. He was one of my favorite poets. His poems conveyed such a sense of sadness and horror- as if he had known magic and madness. In a way I suppose he had... His mother had died when he was little, then his adoptive mother, and then his wife. Death had followed him all throughout his life. Kind of like me...

About an hour later, I stood up to return the books to their rightful place. But while I was walking, my prosthetic gave out.

"Shit!" I yelled, forgetting to be quiet for the moment as I crumpled to the floor. I _hated_ it when it did this! Sometimes my shitty prosthetic would get stuck and it wouldn't work at all. When this happened, I was essentially helpless until someone found me. I looked toward the window, it was still dark. _I _don't_ need help..._

I forced myself to my feet, grabbing the shelves to pull myself up. It was harder than many people think to only be able to operate on one leg. Awkwardly hopping on one foot, I half-dragged myself to put the books away.

"Jävla helvete," I cursed as I gritted my teeth. I strained myself to reach the shelf that the other books belonged on. Almost there... Got it! But as I put those books on, another fell off down the shelf.

I groaned as I dragged myself over to pick it up. As I picked it up, I noticed the worn cover. It was about the ancestry of British nobles. I glanced side to side, as if expecting someone to be watching me. No one was there. I cautiously opened the book, maybe there would be something else about the boy in my dreams.

I gritted my teeth as I dragged myself back to my chair, intent of finding at least _something_ out. As I arranged myself in the chair, I was unaware of the eyes that were watching me.

I soon became engrossed in the book- but I hadn't seen anything about the boy yet. But I kept going. Soon I reached a passage about the Phantomhives. That was Ciel's last name, I realized. I started to read the passage, completely unaware of my surroundings- I was so deep in it.

_"The Phantomhives were a family of nobles going back hundreds of years. The main purpose of this family was to protect the crown and serve the Queen. They would deal with the underworld, while the Queen dealt with the over world. The Phantomhives eradicated criminals by using their own methods against them- the head of the Phantomhives was also known as 'the Queen's Guard Dog'. The last known descendant, Ciel Phantomhive lived in the Victorian era from 1875-1889."_

I stared blankly at the page after reading that. Was that Ciel and my Ciel the same person? _Oh my god, I did not just call him 'my Ciel'!?_ I ignored that momentary slip-of-the-thought to search for more about 'Ciel Phantomhive'. Soon, I was rewarded for my efforts. I skipped over the parts I already knew so I could get to the information I needed.

_"Ciel Phantomhive, the last of the Phantomhive family, went missing for a month after his tenth birthday. On that day, his parents died in the fire that burned down the Phantomhive manor and it was said he was kidnapped by a demon cult."_

My eyes widened, _demon cult. _Was that what my dream was about? Poor boy... It certainly would make sense- but still. Humans had the potential to be horrible beings- perhaps the worst that ever live. I continued reading the page.

_"A month later, Ciel Phantomhive returned to the newly rebuilt manor with a butler in tow. He then became the 'Queen's Guard Dog' and took his predecessor's place. He was involved in many well-known crimes such as what is now known as 'Jack the Ripper'. See page 149 for more details."_

I stopped at the word 'butler'. Wha...? This didn't make any sense. But as my thoughts swirled around in my head- I realized it made too much sense.

"Nope!" I got out of my chair, making sure not to put any weight on my prosthetic, and started to pace. My mind was going at a million miles per hour. But if that Ciel and this Ciel were the same... Oh my God. I'm so stupid.

"I'm a bloody idiot!" I yelled furiously, throwing the book into a corner. They had to be the same person! They had to be. But if they were, then what was Ciel? He couldn't be human- no human could ever live that long. But what was he? I glanced down at the book in the corner. _Maybe I already knew..._

There was only one way to find out. I carefully made my way towards the door, holding onto the wall. I even made it down the hall using only one leg. But I stopped at the stairs.

"Dammit!" I practically shouted. "Sebastian!" I called, hoping he would hear me and magically appear. He didn't. "Dammit, Sebastian! Why are you never here when I need you?" I yelled in frustration as I gripped the banister tightly. I didn't care anymore that it was early, I was at my wits end with all of this mystery.

"You called?" A smooth voice said behind me. I gulped as I turned around.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly, "I just need you for a sec." Sebastian gave me one of his peculiar closed eye smiles before looking back at me.

"What is it that you need?" He asked.

"Ah, right," I said, momentarily having forgotten why I needed him in the first place, "My prosthetic gave out and I need you to fix it." Sebastian raised an eyebrow- it was almost freaky how scarily similar Ciel and Sebastian were. I think Sebastian may have rubbed off on Ciel.

"Why don't you just get a new prosthetic? It obviously doesn't work and it gives out," Sebastian asked.

"No!" I exclaimed. I winced, noticing the volume of my voice. "No," I said in a quieter voice.

"Why not?" Sebastian asked. I looked down.

"I'm used to it, I'm afraid. I'm not easy to change my ways," I said sheepishly. It was true. No matter how much I complained about my leg, I wasn't going to get rid of it. That was one thing I didn't like much about me- I hated change.

Sebastian looked confused, but helped me up so I wasn't clutching the banister.

"You'll have to take it off to fix it," I said. Sebastian rose an eyebrow before helping me into a room, I hadn't been in before. He sat me down on the bed and gestured for me to roll up my pajama pants. I obeyed, rolling them up to mid-thigh.

"How did you lose your leg, if you don't mind me asking," Sebastian inquired as he quickly removed it. I stretched.

"Ah, well. When I was nine I was visiting this construction site for this new museum with my school group. We were doing a project on it. While we were there, this girl- Alicia- was standing below this metal support beam that being lifted up. When it started to fall, she just stood there in shock. If I had done nothing, she would have died. So, I leapt forward and pushed her out of the way. You know the rest," I said nonchalantly. Sebastian still looked confused.

"But why did you jump to her? She would have gotten out of the way in time," Sebastian asked.

"But what if she hadn't?" I snapped, "No one was looking at her. I couldn't live knowing I could have prevented her from dying." I couldn't be sure, but I thought I saw a faint smirk on Sebastian's lips.

He reattached my prosthetic to me. My eyes widened.

"You're done already?" I asked in disbelief. It had taken my father at least half an hour to fix it- Sebastian did it in five minutes.

"If I couldn't do something like this, what kind of butler would I be?" Sebastian questioned with a definite smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes at him- somehow I got the feeling he said that a lot.

"Thanks anyway," I said, hopping down from the bed. Sebastian chuckled behind me as I left the room, heading upstairs. I wanted to confront Ciel about the book I had seen in the library, but when I went to his study he didn't answer.

"Ciel?" I asked quietly, knocking again. I pressed my ear to the door, but I couldn't hear anything. "Fine," I grumbled, "have it your way." I stalked off to my room where I spent the rest of the day listening to music and writing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, I got distracted by Doctor Who and fanfiction. Oh Doctor Who, what would I do without you? (Hey, I made a rhyme!) I'm off today for Eday so I got to work on this since I finished all my work last night.

I know that probably not very many people are reading this, but please take time to review! I love reviews, they make me happy. They make me work harder and quicker! Please review!

Also, I'm sorry if this chapter doesn't make much sense. I don't even know anymore. It did whatever the hell it wanted to do. Hope it made at least a little sense!

Reviews:

Esmereilda: I am basically BSing my way through this. I'm glad you like it!~~! Thea doesn't find out yet, but she has _very_ strong suspicions. Ciel is kind of avoiding her in order to avoid telling her the truth. Thanks for reviewing~ (~~Hugz~~~)

FluffyDarkUnicorn: Don't worry, there is still plenty for Thea to find out. Even after she finds out Ciel is a demon- there's still so much for her to learn. And there's some stuff about Thea I haven't told you~~~!. (Hehehe) I'm glad you're still reading this! Thank you so much for reviewing~!

Please R&amp;R!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Thea! Get dressed, we have stuff to do!" Ciel shouted outside my door, while knocking on it rapidly. I sat straight up in bed in confusion. Ciel? Before I could answer, I heard footsteps walking away. I struggled through my thought process as I blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of the sleep in my eyes.

I got out of bed and got dressed just like Ciel had said. He had been avoiding me the past couple of days, and I don't know what made him change his mind. As I got ready, I looked outside and realized it was late at night. Grabbing the clock, I looked at the time.

"Fuck you Ciel!" I yelled, not caring if he could hear me or not. It was midnight. He obviously didn't understand it was _not_ okay to wake me under any circumstances. I growled to myself, before stomping to the bathroom.

After I got ready, I continued to stomp to his study. I didn't bother to knock- I just went straight in.

"Yes, you may come in," Ciel said sarcastically, after I slammed the door behind me. I narrowed my eyes at him and growled. It didn't really work since I was still tired from my unexpected wake-up call.

"I hate you, you know that?" I demanded.

"No you don't, now, we need to work." I immediately stopped glaring at him when I noticed the case files on his desk.

"What are you doing with those?" I asked. Ciel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I wasn't able to find out much about the case," he admitted. I was surprised that he said that much; Ciel didn't seem like the kind of person to admit when they were wrong.

"So, what do you need me for?" I asked confusedly. I wasn't really valuable in this case. Ciel gave me a look, and my eyes widened in realization.

"You don't want me to-" I stopped at the look on his face. "Alright then, I'm assuming you have a plan?" Ciel nodded.

"Yes. You have to go to the city and act as bait for the murderer," he said. My eye twitched.

"The murderer. As in the modern-day Jack the Ripper, who's been killing young girls?" I ask. Ciel nodded again. "But I thought he only attacked girls who were at their home?" Ciel looked away, avoiding my gaze.

"There was another incident, and it wasn't at their house, it was in the city. And I think the murderer will go for you," he explained slowly.

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or not," I deadpanned. "If I die, I'm going to kill you," I said dryly. Ciel smirked, before his face melting into a serious expression. "What am I supposed to do?" I questioned, resigned to my fate.

"You'll just have to sit in a cafe and read. That's it," Ciel reassured, but it didn't work. I swallowed thickly. I did want to do it, but I knew I had to. And I knew Ciel would save me if I really needed it. I didn't like the idea of being saved, but I knew I didn't stand a chance against this villain. Sighing, I nodded at him, giving him my assent. He visibly relaxed as if he was afraid I would say no.

"Just remember, if I die I'm haunting your kitchen cabinets," I said, pointing an accusing finger at him. Ciel just rolled his eyes at my antics. I had succeeded in lightening the mood- that I was glad of. I didn't like it when the atmosphere was tense and serious.

I cleared my throat. "When do we need to leave?" I asked.

"Now," Ciel answered gravely.

~o0o~

I stood in the hall in a big sweater and jeans, holding a stack of several books. Ciel said I was supposed to be 'a classic nerdy girl', his words, not mine. Eh, I'd rather be a fangirl. I shuffled anxiously, shifting my books on my hip.

Right as I was beginning to reach new levels of anxiousness, Ciel came down the stairs. I relaxed visibly; no matter what I said, I was always glad when Ciel was around.

"Coming?" He asked, opening the door. I rolled my eyes at him, but followed him outside where a car was waiting.

"Remember the plan?" Ciel asked, as he opened the door for me. I graciously got inside.

"Of course I do," I answered dramatically, as if offended. "Sit in the cafe, read, drink tea, look innocent," I read off in a bored tone.

"You may have trouble with the last one," Ciel smirked. I turned to fake glare at him.

"How darest thou!" I exclaimed, placing my hand over my heart. "I am the most innocent person in the world!" Ciel just continued smirking at me and my antics. "My mommy says I'm special," I said childishly.

"You're special all right," Ciel murmured.

"Oi! What was that?" I demanded loudly, turning to glare at him sharply.

"Nothing, nothing," Ciel said in his most innocent voice. I narrowed my eyes at him, and scowled playfully. As I looked around, I realized that we were already in London, I guess our banter had distracted me from our surroundings.

We both immediately became silent, and I swallowed thickly.

"You don't have to do this," Ciel said hesitantly, after a moment. I was surprised he even said that, Ciel seemed like the type of person to get anything done, no matter what the cost.

"It's alright, I have to. It's only fair that we capture him when he's killed so many," I answer quietly. Ciel seemed surprised by this, but when I looked at him, his expression was blank. "Alright, anyway," I said, getting out of the car, "see you later."

I shut the door behind me, before making my way to the cafe that Ciel had pointed out last time we had been to London. Once I was inside the cafe, I took a seat, like instructed, and ordered a Chai tea. I had a feeling I would be here for a while. I sighed, getting out my book, and started to read.

I must have been there for a while, because once I reached down for my tea, it was stone cold. Suddenly, thunder boomed from outside. Startled, I dropped my cup on the floor, smashing it to pieces. But I didn't notice as I looked outside into the dark.

There was a figure standing in the alleyway. At first sight, there didn't seem anything special about him. But there was something that drew me to him... Something strange... Entranced, I got up out of my seat, not noticing the waitress who was yelling at me for breaking the cup. Throwing money down on the table, I walked out- quite zombie like- towards the strange figure.

Once I reached the alleyway, he had mysteriously disappeared. Breaking out of my trance, I whipped around to run away, only to find him blocking the entrance. Warily, I backed away from him, deeper into the alley. I knew Ciel had been watching me- I just hope he made it in time.

The figure chuckled, "Such a nice little girl," he said hypnotically. With every word he spoke, I felt a cloud settle over my mind. I shook my head as if to rid of him from my mind. He slowly advanced towards me, every step made with purpose. "What are you doing out here on your own?" He asked, still predatorily stalking towards me. Something was wrapping my mind up- swaddling it- and slowing my mental processes. I then began to sway slightly. I blinked, _How was he doing this?_

"Stop!" I cried, pointing at him. My hands were shaking. "Don't come any closer." I was horrified to find that my voice shook. He stopped for a moment.

"Why should I? I'm not going to do anything to you," he asked smoothly. For a moment, I almost believed him. But I shook my head again and straightened up. He was putting some sort of trance on me- I didn't know how, but he was.

"Go," I ordered. It wasn't a request- it was an order. He seemed surprised for a moment, but then chuckled at me.

"You're a feisty one aren't you?" He chuckled. _Ciel, please come._ It was more of a desperate plea by now. I knew I couldn't handle him on his own. "You'll do fine," he said, now advancing quickly toward me. I turned to run, but he was already there, holding me immobile against him.

"Hel-" I opened my mouth to scream, but he clamped his hand over me. I desperately screamed against his hand for help. My body betrayed me as it trembled, shaking even as he whispered in my ear.

"It'll be alright," he cooed in my ear, "You'll be fine." At his words, my mind went fuzzy. _What was he doing to me?_ "Just sleep," he whispered. My eyelids immediately became heavy as I fought to stay awake. This person... he couldn't be human! But somehow... I think I knew that from the moment I saw him.

At that exact second someone crashed into him and I was released. I gasped for breath as I backed away- prepared to run at any moment. An inhuman growl erupted from my right, and I backed away. But I stopped when I saw a flash of navy blue hair in the glow of the street light. _Ciel..._ I was relieved to say the least. As much as I hated him having to come and save me, I was glad he did. If he hadn't, I would be dead by now.

Ciel pushed the other... thing to the ground. Now that he was in the light, I could see him clearly.

The man didn't look to be much older than me, perhaps in his mid to late twenties. He had inky black hair, but what scared me most was the look in his cold, grey eyes. That was the look of a crazed person. I had seen it in many people in my life- all of them dark and rotten.

I backed away as far as I could, until my back hit the alley wall. Ciel was standing over the man, his posture tensed as if he was about to attack. I didn't say anything though- this man deserved to die a painful death for all he had done. My gaze hardened as I looked at him. My blood boiled as I thought of all those he had killed.

"Going to kill me, little Phantomhive?" The man mocked. There was blood trickling down his face, but he didn't seem to notice. How did this man know Ciel? Ciel growled in response.

"That is what I plan on doing, yes," he said through gritted teeth. The man smirked.

"Good luck," he said. He smirked again and the street lights all went out. I couldn't see two feet in front of me. Suddenly, I felt his hands on me again- pinning my arms to my sides- making sure I couldn't move. "What's the matter Ciel, can't save her?" He crooned. He nuzzled my neck with his head and I fought the urge to sneer in disgust.

They both must have been able to see in the dark because I heard Ciel start to run towards us. "No, no, no," he said with obvious glee in his voice, "I'll kill her if you come closer..." Ciel suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"What is this?" The man asks. "Does little Phantomhive actually _care_ about the little human?" He mocked. He laughed when Ciel didn't answer, the sound resounding through the night.

"She is quite pretty," he drawled, pressing me closer against him, "I may just have to keep her…" Suddenly, the lights flared on again, and Ciel lunged toward the man. The man roughly threw me to the side to take on Ciel.

"I don't like it when people take what is mine," Ciel said sadistically. My eyes widened as he managed to pull the larger man up by his throat, and then throw him into the brick wall. His back was to me as the man was laying in a pile of rubble, crimson blood pooling around him. Multiple bones were broken, his neck was completely snapped. I stared at Ciel in disbelief, taking turns staring at him and the corpse of my attacker.

But, like a marionette puppet, he jerkily stood up. His broken neck snapped back into place along with all of his other broken limbs. His skin sewed back together, leaving not a trace of what had happened to him behind. My eyes widened as I gasped at the sight. This definitely was nothing I had ever seen before- not even in my grimmest, darkest nightmares.

As his neck snapped back into place, his eyes seemed to stare directly in mine. I merely started back, aghast in disbelief. As I stood, shaking, the humanoid grinned at Ciel, blood staining his mouth.

"Never know when to die, do you Akarian?" Ciel asked sarcastically. The being- Akarian- grinned.

"Not particularly, but then again," he said darkly, "Neither do you." Ciel smirked at that.

"No," Ciel said, smirking, "I don't." Akarian sprinted towards Ciel and engaged him head on. I stood on the side lines, still shaking, trying to process what I was saying. The man- Akarian could only be what humans call demons. That was the only creature I could think of that fit his description. I wasn't surprised to know that demons exist- I had already known that. But to see it in front of me... that was another story entirely.

Both sides of the fight sustained damage and the air grew colder as they fought- almost as if something was affecting it. Akarian managed to pin Ciel against the wall, with his hand clutching his throat. "Got you," Akarian crooned. Ciel smirked, as if he had a secret.

"No you don't." Ciel's eye glowed fuchsia and Akarian was blasted backwards. As Ciel stalked toward him, his eye patch fell off, revealing his other eye. I stared at it, unmoving. I now understood why Ciel kept it hidden. _Demon..._

There was a sign on it- a pentagram I was assuming, the demon's mark. It too, glowed red like the other. I finally knew, Ciel had been the boy in my dreams. He had been Ciel Phantomhive from so long ago. _I was so stupid... I should have guessed this. _But... I think- in a way- I did.

Ciel didn't even glance at me as he took hold of Akarian's throat once more.

"Thea, I suggest you look away," Ciel said, with a hard edge in his voice. I obeyed him, squeezing my eyes shut and turning my head away. Sounds of tearing and gushing, and sounds I only heard in my nightmares filled the air. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter; I didn't really want to know. _If only I could block my ears._

The sounds stopped after a second and I hesitantly opened my eyes. Ciel was standing in front of me, covered in blood- looking straight at me. I hesitated for a moment, looking at him. Then, without thinking I ran up to him and hugged him tightly, not caring about the blood.

He was obviously surprised by my reaction, but I didn't care. A few tears slipped out- not that I would admit to it later. "Thank you," I whispered into his chest. Ciel smiled into my head. I abruptly stepped away and slapped him across his face.

"Fuck you!" I yelled, tears pricking my eyes. Ciel barely looked affected, but it made me feel better. I raised my hand to hit him again, but Ciel caught it.

"Do you really want to do this now? And look," Ciel said, gesturing to my arm, "you're injured." He was right, my arm had a long cut on it- probably from when Akarian had thrown me to the side. I sighed, knowing he was right. I also probably had a minor concussion and was in slight shock.

"Fine," I said, shivering- and not just from the cold.

"Come on." Ciel gripped my waist and picked me up, bride-style. If I wasn't slightly in shock, I probably wouldn't have told him off for it- but I didn't have the energy. He then started to run at what I assumed was his top speed. Hiding my face in his chest, I gripped him tightly to avoid falling off.

When we stopped, we were at the manor. Ciel set me down, and I took myself roughly out of his grip. I started to stalk towards the manor, Ciel quietly following me. I opened the door roughly and stalked inside.

I started to storm to my room, but Ciel caught my arm and directed me to a bathroom. He motioned for me to sit on the counter, and I obeyed. He opened the cabinet and took out several bandages and a bottle.

Ciel took hold of my arm and I ripped it out of his grasp. Ciel looked at me for a moment, before I hesitantly held it out for him. He took it gentler than before and I didn't pull away.

As he started to tend to my arm, I was surprised that he hadn't said anything yet. Somehow, finding out my only friend was a creature from hell wasn't quite processing through my brain yet. I knew it would soon, though. Major freak out time would happen tomorrow.

"You're bleeding," I murmured, spying a thin line of blood on his neck. Ciel looked at me with a raised eyebrow. Straightening up, Ciel stood there as the wound closed up on its own. I gazed at it with admiration and wonder. I reached out a hand to touch it, but hesitated. Ciel nodded, giving his assent. As I touched the recently healed skin, I found no marks on it. It was as if there had been nothing there before. "Amazing," I whispered. I took away my hand and let Ciel finish tending to my arm.

"I'm surprised," Ciel said as he finished wrapping up my arm, "I expected you would be running for the hills by now."

"Well," I said with a half-hearted shrug, "Even if I wanted to, somehow I think I wouldn't get very far." Ciel smirked at that. I hopped down from the counter and started to walk away.

"But still," Ciel said, taking hold of my arm so I couldn't get away, "Shouldn't you at least be a little afraid?" He smirked at me while pulling me closer.

"I'm terrified actually," I said in a monotone, succeeding in making my voice not shake, "And I have a right to be." A note of anger filled my voice with my last statement.

"You_ must _have figured it out before," Ciel said smirking. I shrugged, trying not to let our close proximity bother me. _Why did he have to be evil _and_ look attractive?_

"I think I did, in a way," I said quietly, looking away. That was true. Ever since I had seen the photograph and had that dream... I was just in denial.

I cleared my throat. "But there's one thing I don't understand," I stated, "Why am I here? You obviously don't want to kill me, you could've done that from the beginning. And I don't think you will either. You don't want to harm me- at least physically, anyway." I gestured towards my arm. Ciel's stubborn smirk persisted throughout my rant. "The only reason why I would possibly be here would be-" I broke off, my eyes widening. I swallowed. Ciel's smirk widened at my realization. "Oh, you asshole." I struggled against his grip, but he didn't let go. "Get away from me!" I yelled, hitting him. Instead of doing as I asked, he did the reverse and pulled me even closer so I was up against his chest.

"What is it?" Ciel asked teasingly. I glared at him- no longer playfully. I tightened my jaw, and straightened my back.

"The only reason you would want me here is if you knew," I said, my voice no longer able to keep from shaking. I knew I had hit it head on, once I saw Ciel's face. He had known about my visions from the start. "So you faked being my 'distantly related cousin' to get close to me? How did you even find out in the first place?" I asked incredulously. Ciel loosened his grip on my arm, so I could move it out of his grasp.

"It actually wasn't that hard," Ciel confessed, "It wasn't exactly a secret among people who knew you. There wasn't definite knowledge, but there were still rumors."

"But how did you know it wasn't just that? Rumors," I questioned harshly. More thoughts that didn't make sense ran through my head. "And why would you even care?" It wouldn't really benefit him in any way.

Ciel shrugged elegantly, "I admit, I was close to not believing those rumors. It did take you quite a while." His jaw twitched at the memory. "And what can I say? I was curious. You don't see someone like you every day," Ciel explained nonchalantly. But I could see that he was truly interested in how someone like me could have psychic powers like mine.

"So, what's going to happen now that I know?" I ask, arching an eyebrow. I obviously knew I couldn't tell anyone. For one, Ciel would probably kill me. Two, no one would believe me and I would be put into a mental institution.

"Nothing," Ciel shrugged. I was surprised. I had expected at least _something._ I'm not entirely sure what I had expected, actually. "Of course you can't tell anyone." His grip tightened a little in warning.

"I hadn't guessed," I said dryly. I was glad I had enough energy to be sarcastic. That, at least, hadn't changed.

Ciel smirked at that. "Is there anything else I should know?" I asked.

"Sebastian is a demon too."

"Yeah, no shit. I kind of figured that out a while ago." It was true, I had suspected it from the moment I had seen the photograph.

"You are taking this surprisingly well," Ciel commented, tilting his head back and allowing his hair to fall into his face. I shrugged.

"As I've said, I already suspected this. Though it was a bit of a shock to find out my only friend was a demon," I said. Ciel raised an eyebrow at that.

"I'm your only friend?" He asked incredulously. I rolled my eyes. I just found out he was a creature from hell and he was fixated upon the fact that I counted him a friend. _Because_ _logic_.

"Yes," I said slowly, rolling my eyes, "I just moved from America to England. I didn't have many friends to begin with." Ciel smirked at that.

"That's not particularly smart of you," he said.

"I know," I answered with a small smile. Smirking, Ciel let go of me and opened the door. I just realized how tired I was- it must have been almost three in the morning. My eyelids growing heavier, I made my way to my room, Ciel going to his. Hmm... I wonder if demons sleep? I wouldn't think so.

Once I got in my pajamas and got into bed, I realized a very bad fact. I couldn't go to sleep. I was tired as hell- no pun intended- but I couldn't go to sleep. I rolled over onto my side, facing the window. But I kept thinking that Akarian would be waiting in the darkened corner.

After an hour of tossing and turning, I eventually gave up and grabbed a pillow, starting towards Ciel's room.

It was almost four in the morning now. I opened Ciel's door quietly to find that he was still awake in his bed. He looked surprised to see me.

"Thea, what do you need?" Ciel asked. I tiptoed closer to his king-sized bed.

"Can I sleep here tonight?" I asked shyly. I was ashamed to even ask; it just seemed so childish. Ciel arched an eyebrow.

"You just found out that I'm a demon from hell and now you want to sleep in the same bed as me?"

"Yes."

"Why?" There was one answer I didn't want to give. I sighed.

"I'm afraid to sleep by myself," I said lowly, avoiding his gaze. I heard Ciel sigh from his bed. I looked up.

"Come on," he said, gesturing to the spot next to him. I smiled and put my pillow down on his bed, and laid down next to him. Even if he was a demon, it wouldn't change anything. I would still be sarcastic and irritate him as usual. It didn't really matter. _Yeah... it kind of does... _Well maybe, but still. I wouldn't let it change anything.

With that thought in my head, I snuggled next to Ciel and fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UGH... I'm really sorry if this chapter sucks. I really don't even know anymore. I kind of got stuck when Thea found out Ciel was a demon because I've never read a fic with that was CielXOC and AU. Uhhhhhhgggggggggggg...

So, I'm sorry if this is awful.

Reviews!

FluffyDarkUnicorn: I'm glad you like it! I'll try to keep updating soon!

Esmereilda: I hope Thea finding out about Ciel was up to your expectations! I'm glad you enjoy reading it, it's gratifying to know people actually read this.

Please R&amp;R!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

When I woke up, I was hugging Ciel around his waist, my head using his chest as a pillow. I sleepily started to snuggle closer, but then I remembered the previous night. _Oops._ I immediately released him, not entirely comfortable with the idea that my best- and only- friend was a demon. That's not something you just pull on someone and they're okay with it. I was still majorly pissed off. I scooted a little bit away from Ciel.

"You really like holding on to me when you sleep, don't you?" Ciel inquired, his navy hair falling into his eyes. He still wasn't wearing his eye patch, so I could still see his contract mark on his right eye.

"Yeah... That's a habit I have to break," I said sheepishly, shrinking down a little under the warm covers. After a moment's silence, Ciel sighed.

"You are obviously bursting with questions," Ciel commented idly. I blushed a little- was it that obvious? Well, I suppose it was. _You didn't find this out and _not_ have questions._ I shifted on the bed to get into a more comfortable position. I know I probably looked like hell- like I always did in the morning- but I didn't care at the moment.

"Yeah," I answered, drawing out the word. "For one, do demons even sleep?" I asked. "Because if you don't, and you stayed here all night, that's super creepy and very Twilight-esc." Ciel smirked, and then shifted so he was laying on his back, his head propped up by the pillow.

"Normally? No," Ciel answered truthfully, "But since I used to be human- and I'm not very old- I still sleep. I probably don't need to anymore, it's become more of a habit than anything." I nodded slowly, that did make sense. But he said he used to be human, like other demons didn't.

"How did you become a demon, then?" I asked, partially out of curiosity and partially wanting to know more about him. Ciel's jaw immediately tightened, as if he didn't want to think about it. "It's alright," I reassured hurriedly, "You don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to." I didn't want to make him talk about something he didn't particularly want to dredge up.

"No, it's alright," Ciel replied. I could see that he was visibly struggling with the topic. "It's a complicated story." He cleared his throat, as if preparing himself. "I was an Earl in England, long ago. My parents had been killed in a fire started by an angel of war, who had fallen, and I was sold into a demon cult," His voice shook slightly before continuing, "It was after I had gone through so much pain, and humiliation, that I contracted Sebastian when I was about to be sacrificed." My eyes widened in sympathy and sorrow for him. No one deserved that.

"Sebastian and I did kill the angel, but before Sebastian could take my soul, another demon named Claude Faustus, took my memories. Wanting to get them back, Sebastian fooled me into thinking that Claude and his master, Alois, were the ones who had killed my parents. Claude killed Alois, transferring his soul into me. When Alois was possessing me, he made a contract with a demoness called Hannah. Part of his contract was to make me into a demon, not letting either demon eat my soul," Ciel said flatly. I was in shock from his story.

He sighed, as if mentally exhausted from explaining that much. I blinked, how had he not gone insane through all of that? My countenance softened, he's had a long life. I wouldn't be able to do that; if I was immortal, I would have gone insane a long time ago. Time is not always a good thing, especially when there's too much of it.

Tentatively, I reached out a hand to place on his arm. Ciel looked slightly shocked at the meager amount of comfort I could give him. He had obviously been expecting me to run away and hate him because he was a demon. Logically, that's what I _should_ be doing, but I was never one for logic. _It ruins all the _fun_ you could have. _

After a moment's silence, I asked another question that had been bothering me. "Why was A- Akarian able to mess with my mind?" I asked, my voice wavering slightly on the demon's name, "He was able to persuade me to do anything he wanted." My tone was angry and more than slightly bitter. My mind was my one sanctuary. No one could ever take my mind away from me, it was my safe place. Sometimes it was destructive and dangerous to myself and others, but it was always mine. Ciel sighed at the question, it had a rather lengthy answer.

"Akarian was a kind of demon that feeds off of energy. Raw emotions- terror, fear, anger, rage- all of those things," Ciel explained to me, "He is able to mess with the mind, persuade you or control you. You actually were a rarity." My eyebrows shot up, but that's exactly what he had done to me! Ciel cleared his throat. "He wasn't able to control you, you put up resistance. Like when he told you to sleep, you refused. You may have gotten slightly sleepy, but you didn't immediately fall asleep. You have a strong mind," Ciel said. I smiled to myself; he may have just been stating the truth, but it meant a lot to me. It was good to know that I had a 'strong mind'. _That may be useful in the future..._

"So he's like an energy vampire?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. Ciel gave me a look, raising an eyebrow.

"If you want to put it that way, yes," he answered dryly.

"I thought all demons like feed off of souls, or something," I said curiously, wrinkling my brow. Then again, I wasn't really experienced in this area, so I didn't really know.

"Many do, but there are different classes. The lower classes feed off of energy," Ciel explained to me. I nodded, subconsciously, storing the information in my brain. I suppose that made sense.

"What kind are you?" I asked curiously. Ciel looked at me.

"High class. Since I was turned into a demon by a high-class demoness, I do eat souls." I took a moment to process the information. I wasn't really scared by it, I realized. Though, logically, I should be. But if Ciel had wanted to kill me, he's had plenty of time to do it.

After a moment of comfortable silence, I groaned. "I guess I really should get up now," I said lazily. I really didn't want to, but I had to. I doubt Ciel wanted me irritating him longer than usual. I usually didn't care, but since he let me sleep with him last night, it was the least I could do. Consider it my payment.

Heaving myself out of the oh-so-comfy bed, I made my way towards the door. "Oh, and Ciel?" I started. Ciel looked up at me from his spot on the bed. "Thank you for letting me stay here last night," I said with a smile. Ciel looked confused. I just found out that he was a demon from hell and I was thanking him? _Yes, because logic. _

"You're welcome," he answered eventually. Without another word, I closed the door and made my way towards my room- again. I really need to stop spending the night with Ciel. _Oh God... that sounded wrong. _ I shuddered at the thought, and banished my mind from_ that_ train of thought.

Once I made it to my room, I got dressed, and fixed the monstrosity that was my hair. I was going to have a _relaxing_ day today. Not that I didn't usually, but especially today. I smirked as I left my room, I knew _exactly_ what I was going to do today.

~o0o~

"Sebastian...?" I called from the kitchen door, drawing out the name. He turned around to face me.

"Yes, Miss Thea?" He answered, quirking an eyebrow. It was strange how alike he and Ciel were. Well, I guess that's what happens when you spend two hundred years with someone. I made my way to the counter and leaned on it, giving Sebastian my best sad puppy eyes.

"Can you _please_ bake with me today?" I begged. I was in a baking mood, sugar was life! This had to work, no one was able to resist my sad puppy eyes.

Apparently I was wrong.

"No," Sebastian answered smoothly, obviously hoping I would accept his answer and just go away.

"Please?" I begged again. He had another thing coming if he thought I would give up my opportunity for chocolate.

"No."

"Why not?" I demanded, crossing my arms in front of my chest and pouting like a four year old.

"I'm busy," he answered. That may have not been a complete lie, but still. Baking was important- how else could I get my sugar that I desperately needed?

"I'll smuggle cats in the manor for you again, if you do," I bargained. Sebastian had an indecisive look on his face at the mention of cats. I had found out his weakness for cats a while ago, it was only a matter of time before I had used it against him. I was a dirty player and I did anything necessary to win.

Sebastian sighed. _Win!_ "I'll bake with you for the next," he checked his pocket watch, "half hour." He snapped the watch shut. I snickered for a moment, imagining that Sebastian was secretly a Time Lord but he had turned into a human. He arched an eyebrow at me, but didn't ask. He'd learned not to.

Sebastian cleared his throat. "Is there anything in particular that you wanted to make?" He asked. I tilted my head, thinking about it. I wanted chocolate... Maybe I could make mum's fudge? I brightened at the idea, mum's fudge was delicious. I have never had fudge as good as hers.

"Fudge," I announced proudly. "And," I continued slyly, "Let's have a competition." I smirked. Sebastian arched an eyebrow at that. "I'll make my mum's fudge and you make the best fudge you can possibly make."

"And how will we decide which is better?" Sebastian inquired.

"I will," I said proudly. Sebastian's eyebrow got even higher, if that was even possible. "I won't be biased, I promise," I promised. Sebastian then smirked.

"Then," he said, "What are we waiting for?" I answered back with a smirk of my own. They really were rubbing off on me... Oh well. I have been living here for about a month now, but this place felt like home already. I liked it here, it felt comfortable.

We both immediately started making fudge. Admittedly, Sebastian was working far faster than I, but I was sure I would win. Mum's recipe _always _won. She had said that she had never seen a recipe like her's before, and I had never tasted anything that came _close_ to her's.

After the half hour was up, both of us had our trays of fudge. Sebastian's looked perfect, as did everything he made, while mine looked like what it was- homemade. I preferred it that way, though. But there was one thing I was pissed off about. After baking, I was covered in sugar and flour, while Sebastian looked perfect. Even his hair was still perfect, while mine was all over the place. _This is so not fair... _

"I hate you," I said, my eyes narrowed at him and I pointed an accusing finger at him. Sebastian arched an eyebrow at me.

"Whatever for?" He inquired. My eyes narrowed even more at him, if that was even possible.

"Why do you still look perfect?" I demanded with seething irritation. Sebastian just smirked at me as an answer. Scowling, I sat on a bar stool, while Sebastian cut both a square of my and his fudge. Without using a fork, I took a bite out of his. My eyes widened, and I'm pretty sure my eyes dilated.

"Holy shit," I swore. That was amazing. I swear, I saw sparkles. It was surprising he was such a good cook, considering he was British. Well, also a demon, so technically not really British. You know what, whatever.

Resisting the temptation to stuff the rest in my mouth, I tried mine. I smiled sadly, it tasted just like mum used to make. Swallowing, I debated in my head, which one was better. This was so difficult... I turned to Sebastian.

"So, can neither of you taste human food?" I asked, hoping I could get another judge. Sebastian looked slightly surprised at my line of inquiry.

"No," he answered, "Though, the young master may be able to since it's sweets. He had a particular fondness for them in his human life," he reflected after a moment. I nodded understandingly.

"What does it taste like to you?" I asked curiously. Sebastian pondered that for a moment.

"It tastes like ash to me. Though, I don't know what it tastes like to the young master, since he used to be human," Sebastian answered honestly. I thought on that, it did make sense. I guess I should go try Ciel just in case.

"I'm so sorry," I said, taking hold of Sebastian's shoulders. He looked extremely confused and worried that I had lost it, at the same time. I've gotten that look a lot in my life. But I felt sorry for him, it must be awful to not know what chocolate tasted like...

I released him and cut two more pieces of fudge. "I'm going to see if Ciel can taste it. He can decide which is best," I announced. "And I won't tell him which is which," I added after a moment's thought. I feel like Ciel wouldn't choose Sebastian's on purpose- there seemed to be some kind of competition there. I don't know what about, but it was there.

I took two new plates and made my way upstairs, to Ciel's study. Once I got there, I couldn't open the door. Shit. Gritting my teeth, I balanced one plate on my arm and opened the door without knocking.

"Ciel!" I exclaimed with a cheerful smile. I can't help it, chocolate makes me happy- and high on sugar. Irrationally happy, even. Chocolate had some kind of super power, and I was helpless to it. I had actually read somewhere that sugar affects your brain like cocaine. _That's one hell of a drug, then..._

"What now?" Ciel sighed, exasperated. Ignoring his tone, I placed the two plates on his desk.

"One thing first," I said, "Can you still eat desserts?" Ciel looked confused at my line of question.

"I think so. I taste it faintly, but I can still taste it," he answered cautiously. He was obviously still wondering where the hell this was going. So was I, in fact. I didn't usually have any clue what I was doing anyway. I was strange like that.

"Good, because you have to judge and see which is better," I said with an air of superiority. I crossed my arms in front of me and tried to make myself taller. It didn't really work, but who the hell cares.

Ciel slowly picked up each piece of fudge and took a bite out of it. If it wasn't my imagination, he looked rather sad. Almost... nostalgic. "This one wins," he said blankly when he got to mine. I double fisted the air.

"Go Thea!" I yelled. Ciel looked at me like I was crazy. I seemed to be getting a lot of those looks lately... It was probably because it was almost 'that time'; also known as 'shark week'. I acted even stranger than I usually did during that; if that was even possible. "I win!" I sang to myself. "Thanks Ciel, see you later," I said, smiling at him. I then stalked out of the study.

"Suck it, Sebastian!" I shouted, double fisting the air again. I admit, it felt good to win against the demon butler. He did everything perfectly, after all.

Still enjoying the after effects of my victory against the demon butler, I made my way to the kitchen to grab the rest of the fudge. After I claimed my reward, I made my way to my room. Stretching once I got there, I picked out a couple books off the shelves, intent on spending the afternoon reading and _not_ thinking about demons.

I stretched my cramped legs after finishing my fifth book of the day. Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was almost five. I had finished both batches of fudge, so I didn't exactly want dinner. In fact... I was in a Doctor Who mood. I grinned evilly to myself. Ciel was in for it...

"Oh, _Ciel_," I sang, bounding into his study. He immediately pinched the bridge of his nose at my entrance. I never knocked- what was the point? It was far easier to just burst in. Ruder, perhaps, but who really gives a shit about manners anymore?

"Yes, Thea," Ciel answered in a tone, that said he was exasperated with me. I grinned, I had driven him off the edge. Oh, how fun our little game was...

"It's Doctor Who time," I sang. Ciel put up surprisingly little resistance, unlike last time. That confirmed my thought that Ciel was addicted. Everyone got addicted in the end; it was impossible not to. Once you're in, you're in.

I managed to drag him to the main room again and place him on cozy sectional. It was extremely difficult not to fall asleep on that sectional, it was ridiculously comfortable. Putting on Netflix, I started to play 'The Empty Child'.

Sometime during the episode, I managed to drift towards Ciel again. It was like something always dragged me towards him.

"You know, I'm rather surprised by you- and that's very difficult to do,," Ciel said, during the part where the Doctor was in the hospital with all the gas mask people. I turned my head to look at him.

"About what?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"You not hating me. For one, most people would be screaming in terror, not watching a sci-fy show with them," Ciel said dryly. He still seemed shocked at the idea that I wasn't completely terrified of him like others would be. However, I should be.

"I'm not like most people," I said, giving him a look, "I can't hate you since I liked you before, so why not now? Besides, I had already suspected before." I guess I _have_ already forgiven him. That didn't take too long... But I liked Ciel, he was someone I could actually talk to. Kind of ironic that my first friend in years wasn't even human. But the world works in strange ways- that I already knew.

Ciel smiled at that- a proper smile, not a smirk. I felt strangely happy that he smiled at me. A warm feeling bloomed in me. No, this isn't... I do _not_ have a crush on him. We are friends, that is all. Besides, he's not even human.

Ignoring the feelings blossoming in my chest, I snuggled down and watched Doctor Who well into the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey guys! Okay, when I saw the amount of love that the previous chapter got, I was stunned! I'm so glad that you guys liked it! Also, I noticed that my chapters are getting longer... Well, you're welcome. Onto reviews!

Reviews:

Angelaleopard: I'm glad that you liked the ending! I'm _soooo _glad you like this fic!

FluffyDarkUnicorn: Thank you as always for reviewing! ;) I'm glad you liked it! I also thought that the fight needed a little more, I'm not all that great at writing fight scenes. I don't really know what to do. I'll practice, though!

ThatDragonThatReadLeviathan: I'm so happy that you think it's awesome! Your review made my day! Thanks so much! (But the way, that assignment sounds awesome!) And I'm sure that's not true.

Helen Teng: I'm glad that you like the idea for a Ciel X OC AU fic (Holy shit that was a lot of acronyms!) It's good to know that the fluff part was okay! I was really confused on how to make Thea react about Ciel becoming a demon, so I kind of bullcrapped my way through it. That's what I usually do, anyway!

Esmereilda: I'm glad it surpassed your expectations! To be honest, I was kind of worried about the chapter. :) I wasn't quite sure how to write it, but I thought it turned out okay, at least. I'm happy you are still reading this!

MagentaPeace: I'm glad you like this! I know, there aren't that many Ciel X OC fics. And if there are, they aren't AU. I'm really glad you love Thea! (To be honest, she's one of my favorite characters I've come up with. She's actually getting her own book.) Glad you can't wait!

Please R&amp;R!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Ciel and I quickly developed a schedule. Every day, we would be sarcastic and irritate each other. Then we would watch Doctor Who very late, during which I would fall asleep on Ciel, forcing him to stay with me all night. I felt slightly bad about the last one, but it was really Ciel's fault! He played with my hair, he _knows_ that puts me straight to sleep. I would then deny my growing crush for him in the mornings.

"Ciel!" I exclaimed, bursting into his study, forgoing the need to knock, again. Ciel had given up trying to get me to knock- he knew it was hopeless.

"What now?" He grumbled. I grinned at him. I know he didn't really mean it, I got the feeling he actually enjoyed my company.

"I'm _bored_," I complained dramatically, sprawling in one of the chairs. It was only ten o'clock, but I was already bored out of my mind. Ciel sighed at me.

"Well, what do you want me to do about it?" He asked, obviously not caring.

"Entertain me."

"And if I don't?" I tilted my head, thinking about it. I grinned after a moment, staring him dead in the face.

"I'll bother you for the rest of the day. And that won't be any fun for either of us, because you won't get any work done- and I certainly don't enjoy irritating you. But you'll just refuse to entertain me even more and then I'll _annoy_ you even more, and it'll be just one big, vicious cycle," I ranted. Ciel blinked at my speech. Now he thought I was _extremely_ insane. _Oh well, what we do to not be bored._

"In any case," Ciel said dryly, "I was planning to go into London today." I visibly brightened at the idea.

"Great!" I said, jumping to my feet. "What are we going to do? Are you going to see the Undertaker again?" I liked him, he seemed really cool. Plus, his hair was totally fabulous.

"Something like that," Ciel answered dryly. I was practically bouncing up and down with excitement.

"One second," I realized, looking down at myself, "Let me get dressed real quick." I've been walking around in my pajamas all day. I didn't see the point in getting dressed. Besides, pajamas are comfy! Way better than actual clothes, anyway.

I quickly ran to my room- got dressed in record time- and then ran back to the foyer, where I knew Ciel would be waiting. I was right. He was already standing there, looking like I had left him waiting forever. As soon as I appeared, Ciel opened the door and strode to the running car, not waiting for me. My eye twitched, but I followed him to the car anyway. I was desperate for something to do. Nothing was more toxic than me being bored. Me being bored could result in multiple explosions and/or several broken, valuable vases.

When I got in, on the correct side this time, Ciel started to drive. For several minutes, we were both silent- me enjoying looking at the scenery, as I always did, and Ciel, who was lost in thought.

"Was it difficult for you to learn how to drive?" I inquired curiously, looking at him. It must have been confusing at first, especially since he was from a different era. I know I would've had a difficult time adjusting. Ciel frowned in thought.

"Not particularly, I learn quickly. I did get frustrated at first though, with some of this new technology," he answered. I furrowed my brow, that made sense. But whenever I had seen Ciel using like an iPhone, or something, he was a master. He was the fastest texter I had ever seen- you wouldn't want to get into a texting battle with him. Somehow, it didn't surprise me to learn that he preferred texting over talking on the phone. To be honest, so did I. I hated talking on the phone- it was the bane of my existence.

"What do you mean? You use technology pretty well," I asked. Ciel smirked at me, looking at me through the mirror.

"When I first got the iPhone, I threw it out a window." My eyes widened, he did _what _now?

"What?" I demanded. Why would he throw something like that out a _window_?

"I got angry, I didn't know how to use it. So, I threw it out a third story window," Ciel said casually. My eye twitched. _Does he just burn money, or something?_ Probably.

Before I could retort, we arrived in the city, and I was too overcome with excitement to argue. I was practically dancing in my seat- even though I had been here twice before, this city still amazed me. I was slightly wary though, since last time I had been here I had been attacked by a demon vampire. Lovely.

"Where are we going today?" I asked, face lit up with childish excitement. I knew Ciel was rolling his eyes at me, but I didn't care at the moment.

"There's something that I have to do later, but now we can do anything you want," Ciel answered after a moment.

"What do you have to do?" I asked, curious. I knew Ciel investigated criminals, but what else could he do that he would hide from me?

"You'll see," Ciel said evasively. I scowled at him for a moment before turning my attention back to the streets. London was amazing- huge and busy- but amazing nevertheless. My face brightened when I saw a used book store on the corner. Turning to Ciel, I grinned impishly at him. Looking back and forth between Ciel and the bookstore, I continued grinning. Ciel sighed at me, but allowed me to drag him into it.

Once inside, I breathed in deeply the smell of books. I love used book stores; they were so much more _interesting_ than normal book stores- which were, admittedly, amazing. But they didn't have that sense of home and comfort that used book stores had. Plus, they had amazing prices and you can get _so_ much for your money, that was really my favorite thing.

I immediately ditched Ciel, grabbed a shopping basket, and started to fill it with books. I will have no money left if I keep doing this... I better finish my new book soon so I get refill my bank account.

Dismissing the thought for now, I concentrated on buying as many books as physically possible. As it turns out, that was a lot. There were _so_ many to choose from- my bank was going to suffer deeply for this. Oh well, it's worth it. I would rather go bankrupt than not buy books at all.

"Are you done yet?" Ciel asked me, raising an eyebrow. He didn't bother trying to help me, even though I was practically drowning under my stacks of books.

"Maybe..." I grumbled. Ciel rolled his eyes at me, and then proceeded to take my books to the nearest cash register. This time, now that I knew what he was doing, I sprinted to the cashier, and gave him my credit card before Ciel could pay for it.

"Ha!" I proclaimed to Ciel, pulling myself up to my full height and crossing my arms in front of my chest, looking very proud of myself. He didn't get to pay for my stuff this time! Ciel merely arched an eyebrow, and looked down at the card. I looked down too, to see what he was looking at. I read a name on the card, 'Ciel Phantomhive'.

"Damn you!" I growled at him, he must have switched them out when I wasn't looking. "Why do you keep doing this?" Ciel smirked at me, taking the two full bags of books.

"Because I told you, you don't have to pay for anything while in London," he replied with a smirk etched across his face. I scowled at him again.

"That doesn't mean you get to pay for everything I get!" I exclaimed, flailing my arms about. I didn't want him to! I don't like feeling like I owe someone something.

"Relax, I have over two hundred years worth of money, I think I can afford your book buying habit," he answered.

"Tch. No you can't," I retorted. He really couldn't, if I had bought all the books I wanted... Oh, he would have no money what-so-ever, seriously.

I turned my head against the wind, and I spotted a cafe. I love cafes; they are great places. You can get tea or hot chocolate and then read or write, and nobody will bother you. Cafes were one of the best places in the world- except for book stores.

"Do you want to go in there?" I asked Ciel, nodding my head towards the cafe.

"Sure," Ciel answered nonchalantly. We walked into the cafe and I got us a booth, after ordering some hot chocolate for myself. I was in a hot chocolate mood, as opposed to tea- as I usually am. It just felt like a hot chocolate kind of day.

"So, when do we have to go to the oh-so-mysterious place that you won't tell me about?" I inquired after I got in my seat, taking a sip from my steaming hot chocolate. Ciel looked at the clock over the counter.

"We can go there in about an hour," he answered. I smiled to myself, I was glad that I could go. I have to admit, I was curious as to what Ciel was up to. He was being very secretive about it. _I wonder if it's illegal?_ I nearly spit out my drink at the thought. I really wouldn't doubt it, though. But Ciel seemed more like the type to work alone, not with other people.

The hour passed by quickly, me reading and Ciel occasionally leafing through one of my books. He seemed to enjoy one of them that I had already read.

"You know, it's going to be ready for school soon," Ciel said idly, flipping through the book. I rolled my eyes at him from behind my book.

"I don't go to school," I said, lifting my book up higher to hide my face. I hated talking about this subject. Ciel snapped his book shut to look at me.

"What do you mean, you don't go to school?" Ciel quoted at me incredulously.

"I _mean_, I don't go to school. I haven't gone to school in four years. I take college courses online," I stated matter-of-factly, lowering my book to look at him, "I'm graduating this year, actually." That was true, I had graduated high school in two years. I was actually very smart, even if I didn't always act that way. I never said I was mature, just intelligent. Ciel looked shocked. I scowled at him. "I feel like I should be offended," I grumbled.

"Well, you'd be surprised too, if you were me," Ciel muttered under his breath.

"Oi!" I exclaimed, offended, slamming my book down on the table. Ciel smirked at me as I scowled at him before picking up my book to read again. We spent the rest of the hour reading comfortably in each other's presence.

When the clock struck one, Ciel stood up. After I put all my books away, we started to walk back to the car. Once I got in, Ciel started going on an unfamiliar route passed streets that I didn't know.

"So," I said, dragging the word out, "Where are we going?" Ciel merely smirked in response. "Fine," I said dramatically, leaning back in my seat, "Be that way." Ciel didn't answer my grumbles, but continued driving towards the unknown destination.

After several more minutes of silence, Ciel stopped in front of a large, sprawling building. Curiously, I eyed the building as Ciel rolled to a stop. There wasn't any sign or marking, saying what it was. It had a rather foreboding atmosphere, like it was saying 'Piss off and go away'. There weren't any people going in or out, so it looked deserted. Ciel got out of the car, and I followed, Ciel leading me towards the large building.

"Ciel..." I said, drawing his name out, "Where are we?"

"You'll see." I huffed in annoyance.

"You're being really irritating; you do know that, don't you?" Ciel smirked. My eye twitched, he was doing this on purpose to annoy me; I was sure of it. Looks like he got his revenge for me doing _exactly_ the same thing to him. _Meh, worth it. _

Ciel barged into the building, and I followed him. Inside, it was as plain as the outside, but it was much, much busier. There were all sorts of people milling about, from people who looked like street performers, to people who could pass as lawyers and bankers. My head turned from side to side, looking at everything, and I'm pretty sure I cracked my neck.

"What is this place?" I asked in wonder, what did Ciel do here?

"This is SHR," a strange woman said from behind me. I spun on my heel to look at her. She was rather different looking, with dark brown hair in a perfect bun and a large scar running across her face. There were two men clad in black, standing behind her, who I assumed to be her protectors. I didn't really see why she needed them; she looked like she could handle anyone on her own. She had a sort of aura about her of 'don't mess with me'. Honestly, she was more than slightly intimidating.

I must have looked confused, because she added, "I'm Director Rockwell."

"Rockwell," Ciel acknowledged, albeit grudgingly.

"Phantomhive, you're late," she replied back in kind. Ciel raised a shoulder, not caring. I glared at him. We could have gotten here on time; he just wanted to be late on purpose.

"Wait, is this like Torchwood in Doctor Who?" I blurted out. Ciel did a face palm behind me. I couldn't help it; the only thing that processed through my brain, was that this was like a combination of the Avengers and Doctor Who. Rockwell arched an eyebrow, and stared at me with her piercing gaze.

"Who is this?" Rockwell questioned- well, more like demanded. She didn't look too pleased to see me, though I wasn't sure whether that was her default expression or not. So far, the odds were not in her favor.

Ciel cleared his throat. "This is Thea. Thea, Rockwell. Rockwell, Thea," he introduced, sounding like he didn't want to at all.

"Ah," Rockwell said, looking at me with something that resembled pity, "To answer your question, I don't know what this 'Torchwood' is. SHR is the central for supernatural and human relations," Rockwell answered. That is almost _exactly_ what Torchwood is. Rip off; BBC should sue.

"So, what do you- wait, did you say supernatural?" I demanded. The freaking government knows? This was _so_ not fair; especially to keep it from their own people. That's not right.

"Yes," Rockwell answered slowly, obviously wondering whether I was right in the head or not. To be fair, I really wasn't.

"That is so not fair!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms up in the air, "I spent the first mother-fricken 16 years of my life waiting to meet a supernatural creature, and all I had to do was come to England?" Behind, me Ciel rolled his eyes.

"Anyway," Ciel drawled, directing attention to him, "What is it that you called me here for?" Rockwell stared directly at him, ignoring me for now.

"Come and see," she answered, starting to walk down a less busy corridor. Ciel followed her. I got the feeling that they didn't really get along. Rockwell seemed to be a lot like Ciel, she seemed like she always wanted to be in control and in power. They probably didn't get along _because_ they were so similar. That was what usually happened; people often didn't like looking in a mirror.

Ciel was forced to grab my hand because I was too busy gawking at everything and I almost ran into two people. I blushed slightly at the motion. Unfortunately, Ciel spied it and raised an eyebrow. I quickly looked away from him to look at all the people passing by.

There were great windows in the walls, so you could see inside the rooms. Some looked like they were labs, for experiments and such. Though I did see a library, I wonder if I could get in there...

"Quit acting like a tourist," Ciel snapped at me. I shrunk slightly. People walking past were giving us strange looks.

"I can't help it!" I exclaimed. I couldn't see Rockwell's face, but I imagined that she was rolling her eyes. I straightened up, glaring at Ciel. Ignoring him, I continued looking around.

"This is why I called you in," Rockwell stated heavily. I looked into the room through the glass. "It's one way glass, he can't see you," she added, probably for my benefit. _No shit, lady. I'm not that stupid._ I glanced at Ciel to see what he thought, and I stared in shock. Ciel had a strangely blank expression on his face, but his fists were clenched so much they were shaking. I quickly stared into the room to see what had disturbed Ciel so much.

Inside the room was a man who had inky black hair and golden eyes who was wearing glasses. He had a stoic expression on his face, but then- as if he could sense Ciel's distress- he smirked.

"We don't know who he is, but our scans say that he is a demon," Rockwell continued, not completely oblivious to Ciel's distress. "Do you know him?"

"You could say that," Ciel growled. A stormy look had settled over his face.

"We need you to go in there and interrogate him," Rockwell said, in a bored sort of tone. I glared at her for a moment, but looked away before she could see. Could she not see how much distress Ciel was in? It took a lot for him to act this way, that much I knew. Ciel ground his teeth together.

"I have a couple of questions to ask him myself," Ciel growled, stalking towards the door and storming in. Rockwell and I were stuck standing there, looking through the glass. There was a speaker, so we could hear what was being said.

"Why are you here?" Ciel demanded angrily. I was shocked at this storm of emotion that was coming from him. Usually Ciel concealed his emotions- very successfully- behind a mask of calm. The man's face contorted into a smirk. The sight of it sent shivers down my spine. There was a predatory gleam in his eyes that made me wary. There was this look about him... It was the look of a hunter.

"Ciel, do I not get a hello?" The man inquired, smirk still firmly etched upon his face. Ciel scowled in response.

"How are you here? I thought Sebastian killed you." My eyes widened in realization, was this someone from Ciel's past? Obviously an enemy, but what had he done to Ciel to make him react like this... My eyes widened in realization. I knew who this was...

The man chuckled. "Demons never really die, you do know that, don't you Ciel?"

"But you were stabbed with a demon blade, it was supposed to kill you forever," Ciel replied urgently.

"Ah, it did kill me then, but demons always regenerate. It may take awhile, but we eventually come back," he mocked cruelly. He looked almost happy to see his former enemy. A chill of what I recognized as fear went through me. Even the way he talked... it was like nails on a chalkboard to me.

"But why come here?" Ciel demanded, "What do you want?" The man smirked.

"I want my revenge, of course." He said it in such a tone, that conveyed how long he had waited. His tone was predatory, dangerous in the most primal of ways. This wasn't a person, this was a force of nature- one that could take down anything it put its mind to. "And it won't be quick, I can promise you that. Oh, and what do we have over here?" He asked smoothly, looking straight through the glass at me. I squeaked, frozen. He couldn't see me, could he?

Something about this man made me instantly afraid. This wasn't anything like Akarian, this was the fear of a seasoned hunter. Of someone who killed for fun. "Does Ciel have a pet? I'm sure I'll take great joy in tearing her to pieces," he mocked. My breath caught in my throat as I froze with a singular emotion- fear. Ciel clenched his fists so much that they were white at the knuckles.

"Don't you dare threaten her," Ciel growled lowly. The man smirked.

"Why shouldn't I," he taunted, "She is a pretty little thing, after all." An almost inhuman growl erupted from Ciel, I had never seen him like this. "In fact, I may even-" He was cut off by Rockwell.

"Phantomhive," Rockwell demanded through the speaker, "I want you in here." Ciel scowled, before rapidly storming out of the holding cell.

"What?" Ciel demanded angrily, allowing the force of his anger to rest upon Rockwell.

"You were letting your emotions get the better of you," Rockwell said boredly, "You're supposed to do your job. If your emotions are getting in the way of that, you don't have to help." Ciel scowled. "Now," Rockwell stated harshly, "Do you know this man?"

Ciel ground his teeth together. "You could say that. His name's Claude Faustus, keep him locked up," he growled. Without waiting for an answer, Ciel gripped my wrist tightly, and pulled me towards the entrance, forcing me to hurry behind him.

"Ciel!" I exclaimed, trying to twist my wrist away from him. He refused, and instead gripped me tighter. "Ciel!" I tried again. He ignored me as he pulled me outside the building, and into the sunlight. "Ciel Phantomhive!" I stood my ground and refused to move, until he explained.

"What?" He demanded angrily. A stormy expression had settled over his face. He pulled me closer to him, tightening his grip even more as if afraid I would disappear.

"What just happened? Isn't Claude the one who-" He cut me off. He pulled me up to him so close, that I was practically touching his chest.

"What just happened is none of your concern," he snarled. I winced at the bone-crushing pressure he was gripping my arm with. If he wasn't careful, it would break. Noticing my wince, he loosened his grip, allowing me to slip free from his grasp.

"Ciel, I just want to make sure that you're alright. And don't just say, 'I'm alright', I know you're not," I said calmly, seeing him start to open his mouth. He shut it, and said nothing. Ciel didn't answer, but calmed down considerably. Without another word, he got in the car and we drove off. Ciel ignored me for the entirety of the trip, but I didn't say anything, not wanting to disturb him. He was lost deep in thought, and he didn't speak another word for the rest of the day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey guys!~~~ *Gasp*, a plot emerges! (Points to anyone who spotted the Hunger Games reference). I would like to say, I'm sorry if this chapter kind of went downwards. When I started this chapter, I had no idea Claude would appear in it. (In fact, I hate him so much. He is my least favorite character of all time. He even beat Umbridge- how do you even do that? I think he deserved a more painful death for all that he did. Asshole.) I didn't really want him in it, but here he is! And to all the Claude fans- which I doubt there are many- this will _not_ make Claude out to be a good guy. I despise him with all of my being and could probably write an entire chapter about how much I hate him.

Anyway, I'm sorry if this chapter kind of was bad. I don't have a plan for this story, besides a basic outline. I'm kind of just making it up as I go. And also, there will still be fluff! So don't despair fluff-lovers! Thea and Ciel are still going to be sarcastic. But romance is always more fun when murder's involved. Anyway, onto reviews!

Reviews:

FluffyDarkUnicorn: I agree, homemade recipes can't be beat. Actually, my mom makes this fudge a lot like Thea's. She says that she has never seen a recipe like it, or tasted fudge like it. She also _refuses_ to give out the recipe. She says it's a 'family secret'.

TheDragonThatReadLeviathan: I think we all have that 'one person' in our class. It's part of life, unfortunately. I'm glad that you like that it's a CielXOC fic. There aren't nearly enough of them, in my opinion. They are always about Sebastian. (There should also be more UndertakerXOC fics, in my opinion. XD)

Esmereilda: I think it's hilarious how _everyone_ loved how Thea beat Sebastian. Well, let's be honest, he's Sebastian freaking Michaelis. He can do anything! I think I would have had the same reaction as Thea, actually.

Bellcross: I'm glad you like it!

Please R&amp;R!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

_ My parents and my brother were having a picnic on our favorite hill. When they saw me, they smiled and motioned for me to join them. Grinning back, I started to walk up the hill. But the closer I got, the farther they moved away. _

_ "Come on, Thea," my twin, Orion called. But when I looked at him, I saw that his fair skin was starting to peel away to reveal grotesque, dead skin beneath. _

_ "Orion!" I yelled, wanting him to realize what was happening to him. I started to run towards him. But he just grinned manically, more skin peeling to reveal a corpse lying underneath and a putrid smell surrounded him. It was the smell of death. "Orion!" The scene changed to his battered corpse lying on the shore of a lake. _

_ "No," I gasped, running up to him This time he didn't move, "Orion, please! Don't be dead!" My begging did nothing. In a flash, his rotting, blood-shot eyes snapped open, and his jaw creaked open, revealing the disconnected tendons. His skin was rotting in some places, deep purple, like a bruise. He looked like he had been decomposing for decades. _

_ "Thea," the corpse crooned, "You did this to me. This is your fault. You killed me, and now you've killed our parents. What a bad girl you are." Orion's corpse faded to show my parents' bodies mangled in the car accident. Their heads turned to face me, half of my mom's head caved in. Blood surrounded the scene, like paint on a canvas._

_ "Thea, how could you do this?" My mom's corpse asked, "You've killed us." _

_ "No!" I shouted, unable to move any closer or far away, "No I didn't!" _

_ "Yes, you did, Thea. This is all your fault. What a bad girl you are." My mom's corpse grinned manically, her neck broken at an unnatural angle. _

I woke up, hearing a scream of pain and terror. It was only after I regained my mental facilities, that I realized that it was me who was screaming. I panted, my skin sticky with a sheen of sweat. I looked desperately around the room, and this time there wasn't anybody there.

Tears pricked my eyes, as I gulped for air. I hated this, I hated feeling like this. It wasn't fair! This nightmare wasn't a vision, no. It was a true nightmare. They were wrong, it wasn't my fault! But my mind wouldn't stop taunting me, telling me over and over that it was. And the worst thing was, what if it was right?

Tentatively, I laid down and tried to go back to sleep. But I had barely laid back down again when I knew it was no use. My mind was too busy and jumpy to go back to sleep. I was exhausted, but some part of my mind wouldn't let me sleep._ But there is _one_ thing that I always do after having a nightmare. _

Grabbing my pack of throwing knives that I've owned forever and a day, I hastily got into clothes. I didn't bother to put a jacket over my short sleeved shirt. My jaw set, I grimly strode out of the manor and into the woods. The cool night air hit me, but it did nothing to cool my seething anger as it usually did. Not even the beauty of the stars could calm the rage that was mine. Filled with a grim feeling, I began to let out a trapped tune that fit my feelings. The song filled the air with desolation and it gave a hint to the emotions swirling within me.

"The king and his men

stole the queen from her bed,

and bound her in her bones.

The seas be ours, and by the powers;

where we will, we'll roam."

"Yo ho, all hands,

hoist the colors high.

Heave ho, thieves and beggars;

never shall we die."

"Some men have died and some are alive;

and others sail on the sea.

With the keys to the cage

and the devil to pay,

we lay to the fiddler's green."

"Yo ho haul together,

hoist the colors high.

Heave ho, thieves and beggars;

never shall we die."

"The bell has been raised

from its watery grave,

hear its sepulchral tone.

A call to all; pay heed the squall,

and turn your sails to home."

"Yo ho, haul together,

hoist the colors high.

Heave ho, thieves and beggars;

never shall we die."

"Yo ho, all together,

hoist the colors high.

Heave ho, thieves and beggars;

never shall we die."

"Yo ho, all together,

hoist the colors high.

Heave ho, thieves and beggars;

never shall we die."

"The king and his men

stole the queen from her bed,

and bound her in her bones.

The seas be ours, and by the powers;

where we will; we'll roam."

I don't know how long I walked; I was in a sort of daze. It could have been hours, it could have been minutes. I ignored the cold, biting air. I didn't feel anything then, it was as if I was watching from above, unconnected from the world. The stars shone with their cold beauty up above, and the full moon gleamed in the sky, but I took little notice of it. Rage and sorrow consumed me, until there was nothing left. Reaching a clearing, I stopped, taking out a knife.

With practiced precision, I threw it at the tree, and it made a thudding noise as it hit. It wasn't fair! Why did everything have to be taken from me? Why? I threw another, but it clattered to the hard, forest floor because of my anger. My mother, my father, my twin, even my leg- it had all been taken from me. _Why?_ Tears pricked my eyes, as I angrily threw another knife. Why did everything disappear?

"Why does everyone I love die?" I yelled at the night. _Why does everything I touch have to burn? _Even the birds and insects were silent for the force of my anger and despair. "Why does it always happen to me?" As I reached to throw another knife, a hand caught my forearm. I jerked it out of their grasp, turning to see Ciel watching me with a cryptic look on his face. He took a few steps backwards after letting go of my arm.

"What?" I spat. Why couldn't he just go away? There was a manic look on my face, I knew, but I didn't care. At this moment, I was not a person; I was a storm. A storm of despair, and fire, and rage. I was in a hurricane of emotions that passed by me too quickly to be recognized. I wanted it all to end. "What do you want?" I screamed at him.

I raised my arm, and threw my knife at him. I didn't care anymore- nothing mattered. Ciel caught it in between two fingers, inches from hitting his chest. My eyes widened unconsciously, but I dismissed it. Growling, I tried to hit him, hurt him- anything to get rid of this fire burning inside of me. Ciel caught my wrists with ease and held them away from him.

My eyes were filled with fire as I continued trying to attack him. I struggled to get away from him, twisting and turning, as I gave an almost inhuman scream. The sound resounded throughout the night, but I didn't care. I didn't care about anything except the pain festering inside of me. I knew that I was being illogical, but I was filled with grief and rage; I was on the brink of insanity. I hadn't been this bad in years... In that moment, I would've done anything.

Ciel pinned my wrists together, and then held me against him so I couldn't move. Ciel was looking at me with... It wasn't pity, Ciel would never pity me. Pity was for lesser people- weaker people than I. It was... understanding. My rage slowly ebbed away at the look he gave me, until it was gone. The fire was doused, and I was calm once again.

The fire in me was gone, but as I looked at him my throat tightened in regret. "I- I'm so- so sorry. I d- did- didn't mean- I'm so sorry," I babbled. I looked down, ashamed; a tear trickling down my face. Ciel lifted my chin up with his finger, forcing me to look at him. I obeyed, my eyes wide with unshed tears.

"Crying is disgraceful," he stated, wiping my tear away with an old fashioned, white handkerchief that he had taken out of his pocket. I broke into a watery smile at that. With that one sentence, everything suddenly became okay. I don't know how, but from that one, seemingly unkind, statement, I was okay.

I finally relaxed, but Ciel didn't let go of my wrists. I was okay with that, though. I felt like he was my anchor onto sanity. I had come so close to going over the edge again... I never wanted to do that again.

"You're freezing," Ciel commented, rubbing my wrists with his thumb. I shivered; I hadn't noticed until he said that. His touch was oddly soothing. "Let's get you inside," he said, picking me up. I curled up in his arms, taking all the warmth he could give me. I didn't fight him as I usually did. I suppose I owed it to him for throwing a knife at him, and trying to kill him.

In only a few seconds, we arrived at the manor. Ciel carried me to the sitting room. He started a fire, though I didn't actually see him do it. He then gave me a stack of blankets to wrap myself in, which I did. I immediately collapsed in a chair; it was as if all my strength had left me in that moment. I was still shivering when Ciel handed me a mug of cocoa. I took a sip and relaxed as the warmth filled my being. I was exhausted, mentally and physically.

Ciel sat in the chair opposite of me. I slowly drank my hot chocolate, avoiding his gaze. He had seen me at my absolute worst. I hadn't been that bad in years... I didn't want to tell him, but he deserved an explanation for what I had seen and done to him. I winced at the memory of trying to stab him. _I really did get close to going over, didn't I?_ I shivered slightly at the thought, taking another sip of my hot chocolate.

I swallowed thickly, mentally preparing myself for the following conversation. "Did I ever tell you that I had a twin brother?" I asked rhetorically, knowing I had never told him any such thing. Ciel looked at me intently and shook his head. "His name was Orion. We were best friends, we did everything together." I swallowed again. "One day, my family and I went to the lake for a summer vacation. O-Orion and I were swimming. My mom said not to go too deep. We ignored her and we were just playing. We were splashing and dunking each other underwater. Orion swam downwards to escape me. But he never came back up." I stopped, my voice wavering. "My parents and I never found the body. After that I started to have horrible nightmares, and I had to go on medication. I only recently stopped using the medication because they had stopped. Apparently they came back," I said wryly.

Ciel didn't say anything in response to my story. And I'm glad he didn't. "But that's not all," I continued hesitantly. I didn't really want to share this bit, but he deserved to know, since he had seen it. "It was around that time that I was diagnosed with minor psychopathy. I hadn't used medication for a long time, but evidently I need to start again," I said bitterly.

"It's alright, you know, to act like that. Sometimes rage needs to be let go," Ciel said, with a distant look in his eye. I smiled softly against the rim of my cup.

"You seem to be the only one who thinks so," I said wryly. It was true; I have gone to so many psychiatrists and specialists. None of them seemed to think that it was normal to grieve or rage.

"I will also be confiscating these," Ciel said, holding my pack of throwing knives.

"No!" Ciel arched an eyebrow at me. I cleared my throat. "It's just... Orion gave those to me when I lost my leg so I could still take care of myself."

"You're very good with them," Ciel commented. I shrugged.

"I've been using them for most of my life," I answered. Ciel didn't say anything, but put my throwing knives back on the table.

Time ticked by in a comfortable silence, neither of us saying anything to the other. I nearly nodded off, finally warm and content.

"You should get to bed," Ciel commented, standing up. He motioned as if to carry me upstairs, but I shook my head, placing the empty cup on the table.

"I can walk," I said simply, standing up on my own. It may have been my imagination, but I thought I saw a ghost of a smile on Ciel's lips.

I walked to my room with Ciel following me. When I got to my door, I turned around and embraced Ciel.

"Thank you," I murmured against his chest. Again, I felt the familiar warmth building up in my chest. This time, he didn't tense and hugged me back. I smiled to myself before letting go.

"Good night Ciel," I said with a smile.

"Actually, it's morning," Ciel replied with a smirk. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Then good morning," I answered. Ciel nodded at me gravely, and I went back into my room. This time, I really did go to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Holla! I'm back! I wrote this on a 7 hour car trip to my Grandpa in Missouri. I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, it's more serious than anything. I like whimsy and sarcasm more than serious. Anyway, I felt like the story needed some serious so ta da! I also apologize for how short this chapter is. I tried to make it longer, but I couldn't. Sorry about that. Hehe...he..he...

REVIEWZ:

Paxloria: Holy shit, that was a lot of reviews. I don't mind though, they were all very helpful! First off, about the book having information about Jack the Ripper, I'm calling 'poetic license' on that one. Basically, it fit the story, so it happened. And I took your suggestion, and added a little to Chapter 8. And I agree, Doctor Who rules! Ciel does need to finish the series... I also changed the date in chapter 6. About the last chapter... Shhh... I can't tell you yet... ;)

Thanks for all your suggestions!

IndigoBlueButterfly: I'm glad that you agree with me on Claude. I'm glad that you think the 'romance' is progressing well. I actually have a little scene planned up ahead...

Esmereilda: There will be a scene where Claude gets the shit knocked out of him. Oh, how I'm looking forwards to that... And, that's actually a really good idea... I may use that.

Also, there will be a plot twist in the next chapter. It won't make much sense, but oh well.

Please R&amp;R!


	11. Chapter 11

** Quick thing, I edited Chapter 8 a couple days ago, so you should probably reread that. If you don't want to, I'll just give you the quick version. Basically, Thea knows about Claude and Alois and Angela/Ash. **

** Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 11

When I woke up for the second time that day, there was a strange feeling in my stomach. I struggled to remember what had happened the previous night. _Oh._ Right, I had put on quite the show for Ciel. I scowled to myself. Oh well, I won't let this affect our friendship. I saw Ciel at his worst with Claude, I suppose it was only fair that he saw me at mine. It didn't make me hate it less, but I could deal with it now. It was a bit like we were sharing a secret.

After stretching and doing major contortionist acts, I got ready. I debated getting dressed, but I felt like I should. Sighing to myself, I put on a pair of jeans and an Attack on Titan t-shirt. Most of my wardrobe consisted of fandom t-shirts and jeans. They were functional, and easy to move in; that's all that mattered to me.

Once again, grabbing my oh-so-precious iPod, I made the familiar walk to Ciel's study.

"Oh, Ciel!" I called, bursting into the study like I usually do. I sprawled in one of his chairs, legs over the arm and my head not being supported by anything.

"Yes?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow. You would think he'd be used to my antics by now. Though, maybe he was just surprised that I recovered so quickly from last night.

"I'm bored. Come do something with me," I complained. Ciel continued arching an eyebrow. He was so flipping dramatic all the time! Seriously, all the raising one eyebrow and the smirking. Honestly, we aren't on a movie set; though he would be a fantastic actor.

"I'm busy," Ciel replied boredly, shuffling the stacks of papers on his desk.

"No you're not, you liar," I called him out. Walking up to him, I picked up the book that he was hiding behind the file. Ciel scowled and I smirked at him in triumph. I could now tell when he was lying, which he did less than I thought. He is a good liar, but so was I. _After all, good liars can always tell when another person is lying. _

"Vivian Moore, again?" I asked incredulously, "She's not even that good a writer." He really loved those books... Ciel glared at me.

"_Yes she is_. She's an excellent writer. Though, it's been at _least_ two years since she's come out with another book," Ciel murmured to himself. I rolled my eyes at him, and allowed a small smile to cross my lips.

"I'm sure she's been busy, Ciel. But there are more important things to do right now, like entertain me!"

"No."

"Come _on_," I whined, giving him my absolute best sad puppy eyes, "Won't you come and play with me?"

"No."

"Why not?" I whined. Didn't he realize how dangerous I was when I was bored? It should be a rule, that I should never be bored! I usually ended up destroying _something_.

"Because." I pouted at him. That wasn't a real reason.

"You're no fun," I complained. Ciel just gave me a 'deal with it' look. He was the master of that look. Sighing dramatically, I got up from my chair.

"Whatever shall I do?" I asked dramatically, putting my hand to my forehead in the typical 'woe is me' pose. Ciel looked at me strangely. You know, he really should be used to this by now- he already knows I'm insane. He shouldn't be surprised by this anymore. When Ciel didn't reply, I humphed. "Fine." I stalked out of the study, my nose in the air.

What can I do now? Ciel refuses to entertain me, I don't feel like reading- for the first time in forever- and I actually _don't_ want to go on the internet. I didn't even know that was possible. _Oh, I know what I can do._ I walked downstairs, to the kitchen, to look for Sebastian. He was usually in the kitchen, but he wasn't this time. I sighed. Whenever you went looking for him, he just disappeared. But when you _didn't_ want to see him, he was everywhere. And I mean, _everywhere_. It was difficult to do snooping when there was a demon butler watching you at every turn.

"Oh, screw it. SEBASTIAN MICHAELIS!" I bellowed into the empty hallway.

"You called?" A voice inquired behind me. I immediately turned around, and visibly brightened.

"I'm bored. Will you play with me?" I asked cheerfully. Sebastian just gave me a strange look, and then pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why do I always get those looks?" I inquired to thin air. _Certainly I wasn't that strange._ "Come on," I said cheerfully, turning back to Sebastian, "I want to show you something."

He still didn't move, so I attempted to take drastic measures. Grabbing his hand, I tried to pull him in the direction of the staircase. 'Tried' being the key word there; he didn't move an inch. Grimacing, I pulled harder. When that didn't work I tried pushing. Right, demon strength. This was so not fair. When Sebastian moved to face me, I fell to the ground. Sebastian smirked at the sight.

"Ooff!" I exclaimed, hitting the ground. I pouted. "Sure make fun of the girl with one leg," I muttered before standing up, brushing off my pants. "Fine. There are cats involved," I said in a resigned tone. Sebastian immediately started paying attention and this time let me lead him to my room. I crept past Ciel's study, which was probably useless- he could sense me for all I knew.

"Okay," I said, once we were in my room. I opened up my closet to reveal a veritable crap load of cats. Sebastian's eyes immediately went wide and his pupils dilated, as he took in the beautiful sight before him. When I had first found out about Sebastian's obsession with cats, I started laughing hysterically and fell to the floor. Something about an ancient, malevolent being, loving cats struck me as hilarious. It still does, if I'm honest.

Sebastian immediately started to scrub a grey and white cat's cheek. The kitten was winding itself in between his hand, sucking up all the love it could get. Soon, we were surrounded by cats, begging for love. I had found the cats all over the ground and I couldn't just _leave_ them there, like a heartless human being. So I did the thing that any kind, caring human would do. I hid them in my closet and snuck food from the kitchen out for them. It was hard to do without Ciel noticing, but I think Sebastian knew all along. He had this cat radar, it was slightly scary. He would always know if there was a cat within a five meter radius of him. It was actually very impressive.

"Why does Ciel hate cats?" I asked curiously. I had always wondered that. I mean, cats were the cutest thing on Earth, even Sebastian liked them. How could Ciel dare to resist them? Sebastian tilted his head thoughtfully.

"I believe it stems from his asthma from when he was human. He was deeply allergic to cats, and couldn't stand to have one near him. I believe that it went has come over to now, even after he wasn't allergic anymore," Sebastian explained thoughtfully. My brow furrowed, that made sense, but still. Cats were so cute! I would have to convert Ciel to be a cat-lover. _Hmm... That will be fun._

"How did you end up getting stuck with Ciel?" I questioned. I was extremely curious on this subject, but I couldn't bring myself to ask Ciel. Sebastian arched an eyebrow.

"Would you believe that I stay here of my own accord?" He inquired. I snorted ungracefully, looking to the side and rolling my eyes.

"Please. For you to stay with Ciel would either require one of two things. Either you have some kind of loyalty to him- which, no offense, I doubt that you have- or he can give you something. Now that isn't true, as far as I know, since you can no longer eat his soul," I deadpanned. Sebastian smirked at me, as if proud that I had figured that out.

"You're correct," Sebastian answered, smirking, "Before the young master was turned into a demon, he ordered me to eat his soul, no matter what. I have to stay and continue to serve him, until I am able to obey that order."

"But why can't you just leave?" I asked. It didn't make sense that he had to stay, since there was nothing in it for him. Sebastian continued stroking the cats.

"Demons cannot lie, and they cannot break orders. We may not have loyalty, but we have aesthetics . And our deals must always be followed through with," Sebastian said, almost mournfully. I must admit, I felt bad for him a little. It didn't seem fair to do something and then not get the promised payment. Then again, life wasn't fair. _That was proved more than enough. _

Sebastian tilted his head, as if listening to someone from far away. "The young master is calling me," Sebastian commented disappointedly. I pouted a little, but I knew he had to go. Once he had left, I locked all the cats back in the closet, after giving them a little extra love. They deserved it, poor things. It seems that every time I went to spend time with Sebastian, he would be called away soon after. If I didn't know better, I would have thought that Ciel was doing it on purpose…

After I locked the cats back up, I got back into my pajama shorts and t-shirt. Yes, back into my pajamas. I can't help it! Pajamas are just better than real clothes. I swear, I changed pajamas more times than people changed clothes during the day. _I have a problem..._ I had gotten more comfortable about my leg, and would now wear my pajama shorts around the house. Somehow, being around another person who had lost something made me feel better. _Well, misery does loves company, after all…_

Once again feeling the beginning stages of boredom, I left my room to wander the house. But when I was walking past Ciel's study, I heard shouting and crashing from inside. Curiosity gripped me, and I stopped outside the door, listening in. For a moment, the voices were indistinct, but then Ciel started yelling with growing anger and I could hear clearly.

"He escaped, Sebastian! And you know he's going to come here, after you! How could you let this happen?" Ciel shouted. I had never heard him like this, usually he was the calm sort of angry. This was... rage. I was confused for a moment, W_ho was he talking about?_ But then it hit me. Claude. The only person who caused this much rage for him. Now that I knew his story, I could understood his rage. Well, I wouldn't go as far as to say that I _knew_ it, but I certainly could understand the reasoning behind it.

"I did as you said, my lord," Sebastian answered. I heard a crash as something smashed against the door. I jerked, before relaxing when I knew that it hadn't actually hit me.

"You knew that he would come back, but you didn't care to share that little fact?" Ciel demanded. "Now he's going to try to use me to get to you!" I shifted nervously, I felt like I shouldn't be listening to this. But I couldn't bring myself to turn away.

"Does this concern have to do anything with Miss Thea?" Sebastian asked slyly. I froze outside the door. Ciel didn't respond. "Are you concerned that she may be harmed in the crossfire?" He asked. When Ciel still didn't answer, Sebastian said, "Or is it possible that you have come to-" Ciel cut him off. My eyes widened, was Sebastian about to say...

"I do not know the meaning of that word," Ciel replied coldly. I do not know why, but my heart deflated slightly at those words. I scowled to myself. _Stop it! You don't care! You do _not_ have a crush on him! _But I wasn't sure if I believed myself... "Besides what does that have to do with anything?"

"You can ask her, she's been right outside the door this entire time." Time froze and I nearly stopped breathing. It didn't even occur to me to run, it wouldn't be any use anyway. I just stayed there, kneeling down by the door. Inside the room, I heard the tell-tale scratch of a chair against the floor, and then footsteps toward the door before it slammed open. Ciel stood there, looking down darkly at me. I gulped.

"Hi..." I greeted awkwardly, dragging the word out. Ciel did not look amused. Instead of replying, he took hold of my arm, and dragged me into the room. Once I was in his study, the door behind me slammed shut, without anybody touching it. I jumped at the sound. Ciel was still glaring at me with his one sapphire colored eye.

I stood there, looking like a disobedient child. My hands were clasped in front of me, and I shrunk slightly under his gaze. "Yes...? Okay, would you stop staring at me like that, it's kind of creeping me out now," I deadpanned, straightening up. Ciel seemed to break at that. Heaving a sigh, he collapsed back in his chair.

"Why do I even let you stay here?" He inquired to the air, pinching the bridge of his nose. I shrugged.

"I don't know. I do nothing but annoy you. Logically, you should have gotten rid of me a long time ago," I answered nonchalantly. Sebastian stifled a chuckle at my childish response. Ciel sighed again, before looking directly at me.

"I don't take kindly to eavesdroppers. Do not let me catch you again," Ciel said. I shivered at the warning that laced his tone. "I won't take kindly to it. Now leave," he ordered. Obeying, I nodded at Sebastian, before backing out of the room. I didn't want to go back to my room when I had just left, so I started towards the library.

Once I entered, I breathed in the scent of books. I have always loved that smell. I found that every book has a different scent. My old friends always thought I was strange for smelling books. I paused in my tracks. I hadn't thought about my friends since my parents died. I wonder how they were doing? I hadn't seen them in such a long time... It was strange how easily I had forgotten about them.

Trailing my finger over the spines of the books, I chose a thick volume about Norse mythology. I have always loved mythology- any kind, really. Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Norse- anything. I loved it all. I had always found it fascinating, the things that humans have believed. I find it strange that when something is still believed, it's called a religion. But when no one follows it, it's called mythology. In my opinion, they all existed. Humans had the great power of creating and destroying themselves. They believed in things that they created themselves, they were destroyed by the things that they make. Humans controlled the future, whether they believed it or not.

I, myself, had always chosen to believe in mythology. Such fantastic tales, they _had_ to be real. What I liked is that they didn't glorify their gods, as we do now. They weren't all-perfect deities- they were human. They betrayed each other, they shared joy, they fought. They were greedy, many of them weren't even good, they had many of the things that we consider 'bad'. But that's what I like about them, they are human- not perfect, human. It made it more real, in my opinion. After all, anything that can be dreamed is real.

A couple of hours passed by without my notice. Finally finishing my book, I stretched in my chair, and then got up to put it away. After doing so, I decided to head down to the kitchen to get food. Preferably chocolate. Chocolate is good.

When I entered the foyer to get to the kitchen, the doorbell rang. I froze. Nobody ever came to the door, _ever_. Not salesmen, not girl scouts, not people trying to convince you that their religion was better. Though, if they did come, I fear what Ciel would do to them. _That would not be good. _

Creeping closer to the door, the bell rang again. That shook my resolve, and I walked to open the door. I mean, if it was a demon, they would probably just knock down the door... right? I checked the peephole just to make sure it wasn't Claude. It wasn't. Outside the door was a boy that looked to be about Ciel's age, with blond hair and icy blue eyes. I opened the door. He was wearing dark skinny jeans- that he looked surprisingly good in, for a boy- and a grey t-shirt and jacket.

"Hello?" I asked. The boy looked confused for a moment, as if confused as to why I was there. But then his face brightened into a smile.

"Hello, I'm looking for Ciel," the strange boy said. I raised an eyebrow. But then I heard a startled gasp behind me. I turned around to see Ciel standing in the foyer.

"Alois?" Ciel asked. What? Alois broke into a grin.

"Hi Ciel!" Alois said cheerfully.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ta da! Told you there would be a plot twist! I know, I know. It may not make sense right now, but I'll explain it later. And no complaining about my pathetic excuse when you read it! I like Alois... I wanted him in here. I didn't actually used to like him, but then I read some fanfiction and one thing lead to another...

Anywho, I hope you liked the chapter! I thought it was okay, and I got a few scenes that I wanted in here. So I'm pretty satisfied with it. I had some trouble writing it, because I wrote this in the car and then it deleted itself. It said that it was unreadable or some shit. But, I found most of it on my flashdrive (which I hardly ever use). That's probably actually the first time I've used my flashdrive in like two years. That was lucky...

Reviews:

FluffyDarkUnicorn: That's a very good idea... However, I doubt that Ciel would allow a picture to be taken of him when he was dressed up as a girl. But maybe she'll find the dress...

Esmereilda: I hope you liked the plot twist!

Paxloria: In response to your question, you can ship knives or weapons, it just takes a long time. I mean, she couldn't logically take them on a plane. But they were sent with the rest of her stuff. But her stuff was sent after the Akarian incident. And I may have taken you're advice... Oh, and about Claude and SHR, their tests consisted of scans, and since they already had information about demons, it was easy to identify him. I can't answer your question about whether he let himself be captured or not...

Please R&amp;R!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Alois?" Ciel asked. _What? This was Alois?_

"Hi Ciel!" Alois said cheerfully, waving at Ciel.

"What- How-" Ciel seemed to be at a loss for words at the sight of his old enemy. "How are you here?" He finally got out. Alois pouted dramatically.

"And here I thought you'd be happy to see me!" Alois whined. A grin crossed my face, he may be Ciel's enemy- but I liked him! _He seems strangely similar to me..._ I think we could be friends- he seemed insane enough.

Sebastian chose that exact moment to enter the foyer to find the source of all the yelling. He too froze upon seeing Alois. Sebastian had a shocked look upon his face, the most surprised that I had ever seen him since I began living here. Sebastian was just as surprised as Ciel.

"What- How are you here?" Ciel demanded, moving angrily towards Alois, as if about to attack him. Alois stepped easily into the foyer, smirking at Ciel. He seemed awfully fearless for someone approaching his supposed arch nemesis. Either he was brave, or just stupid. _Maybe both. _

In response to Ciel's question, his eyes briefly flashed bright red. My eyes widened at the sight, _Another demon? Seriously? Freaking another? And shouldn't Alois have been eaten after he made a contract with Hannah? How was he even here?_ This manor had too many supernatural creatures in it…

Ciel seemed to share my opinion on Alois. "You were dead," he argued passionately, "Your body is rotted in the ground, how are you here?" Alois smirked again. _Seriously, what is it with demons and smirking?_ It was getting on my nerves.

"I never died," Alois said haughtily, his smirk widening, "I thought you'd be happy to see me!" Okay, I liked him. That probably wasn't good, since he's technically Ciel's enemy. _But still..._

"You know that's not true, why are you really here?" Ciel demanded. Alois's smile faded at that, and he got a troubled look on his face. Stuffing his hands in his pocket, Alois got at expression of grave seriousness.

"Claude," he said shortly. Ciel immediately stopped raging and got an expression of extreme calm. He tilted his head back, examining Alois critically. "We have things to discuss," Alois said, his tone changing from joyful to serious in an instant.

Alois was allowed fully into the manor and they all went upstairs, me following them. I was hoping Ciel wouldn't notice me and send me out. I wanted to hear what was being said. Once we were in his study, Ciel sat at his desk, with an aura of deadly calm.

"What do you know?" Ciel asked- no, ordered- Alois to tell him. Alois seemed nervous, sitting on the edge of his seat. It seemed out of character for him to be serious, from what I had seen of him. I know Claude had killed him before, but what else could he have done to make him this afraid?

"From what I know, Claude came back about a month ago, and he has gained a group of followers. I- I believe that they're a demon cult." Alois was now obviously nervous. I would be too; I had seen Ciel's anger, and I didn't want to be the object of it. Ciel's jaw tightened at the mention of a 'demon cult'.

"He obviously let himself be captured... But why did he wait until now to reveal himself?" Ciel muttered to himself. He then seemed to realize that I was in the room with them. I jolted a little under the force of his gaze.

"Thea..." Ciel growled, silently warning me to leave. I shot up straight, sitting on my perch on the arm of my chair.

"I will not leave!" I retorted loudly.

"You don't need to be here for this," Ciel said firmly.

"Oh yes, I bloody well do!" I stood- well, sat- unwavering under his gaze. He finally gave up, giving me his silent consent to stay. I settled down after that, I wanted to know what was happening. Plus, I had to make sure Ciel didn't kill Alois. It seemed like a likely option so far...

"Wait," I said, furrowing my brow, "Why would Claude want to kill you? I mean, sure, he'd want to kill Sebastian, since I'm assuming he's the one who killed him. But why you? And he can't possibly think that he could use you to get to Sebastian. And I mean, no offense," I said, looking at Sebastian, "But Sebastian would at least be slightly relived to be rid of you." Ciel nodded in acknowledgment, scowling

"But Claude has always had a strange obsession with my soul..." Ciel mused, "He'd most likely be of the opinion 'if I can't have it, nobody can'. He'd want to kill me anyway." I nodded.

"Forgive me, my lord, but Thea is indeed involved in this," Sebastian supplied. Attention shifted to him. "Claude will most likely see her as a way to get to you." Ciel scowled at him, and not just because he was right. I was confused, why would Claude use me to get to Ciel? I may call Ciel my friend, but I doubt it worked in reverse. _What did Sebastian mean..._ Ignoring the thought for now, I turned towards Alois.

"And you," I said accusingly, pointing a finger at him, "How are you even here? Wasn't your soul eaten by a demon, or something?" It didn't make any sense, how could he possibly be here? Alois gave me a fantastic 'bitch, please' look. I matched just as well though, and didn't let up my gaze. I knew Ciel was wondering the same thing as I was.

"It was never eaten," Alois said haughtily. Ciel's eyes widened in disbelief.

"But your body was destroyed," Ciel argued. I admit, I agreed with Ciel on this. It didn't seem possible for Alois to still be alive. I mean, Ciel was still alive- but he hadn't been killed by a demon, then made a deal with another demon, and then got their soul eaten. That was one messed up story. _But still, it just didn't seem possible... You know what, screw this shit. I call demon logic on this one._ Alois rolled his eyes at Ciel in response to his question.

"You never saw the whole terms of my contract with Hannah," Alois explained slowly, as if talking to an idiot. He seemed to delight in the fact, that he had tricked Ciel. Well, I would have too, to be honest. Ciel didn't miss much and when he did, it seemed like a major deal. "My soul _was _eaten, but I was turned into a demon." Ciel was insistent on denying Alois's existence.

"But your body was destroyed!" Ciel argued, "I saw it!" Alois rolled his eyes at him again.

"Well, this obviously isn't my original body," Alois said nonchalantly, slouching back in his chair, sprawling out as I usually do. Ciel evidently gave up on Alois, and turned to Sebastian in exasperation.

"It is possible for a contractor to become a demon, after they'd been eaten, and create a new body, my lord," Sebastian said, obviously enjoying Ciel's helplessness. I don't think he'd ever seen Ciel like this. And he was enjoying every moment. Ciel leaned back in his chair, defeated for the moment.

"But why come here?" Ciel asked. "What do you have to gain by coming here?" Alois got a dead expression on his face, his jaw tightening. He looked slightly like a corpse, come back to life. _Which I suppose he was, in a way._

"I want to help you destroy him." My eyes widened. This was by far the most serious I had ever seen the boy, but there was something in his eyes... something familiar... I had seen in myself on many occasions, after Orion had died. It was the look of a madman. My eyes softened in sympathy for him, he had obviously been though so much. I didn't know what, but it had to be a lot to summon a demon. The world was so cruel to so many...

"And why should I let you?" Ciel asked bluntly, leaning over his desk, his hands interlaced in front of him. Alois met his gaze with equal determination.

"Because I want to kill him more than anyone," he answered. The air was thick with tension. The two younger demons stared each other down before Ciel backed down, giving Alois his approval.

"Fine," Ciel said shortly, "Thea, leave." I shot up in my chair. _I thought we already went over this! I'm _not _going!_

"What? I don't want to!" I exclaimed, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

"Sebastian." With that one word, Sebastian picked me up- ignoring how I was hissing like a cat. "Take her to her room," Ciel ordered, not giving me a second look.

"Yes, my lord," Sebastian answered, bowing as much as he could while holding me.

"Ciel! Why are you doing this?" I demanded, while Sebastian started to walk out of the room.

"We need to discuss something, and I don't want you involved in it," Ciel retorted boredly.

"A simple 'please leave' would have sufficed!" I heard Ciel chuckle as the door shut. Turning to Sebastian, I wheedled, "You don't _really_ have to do this." Sebastian merely looked down at me. "Come on! I want to hear what they're talking about!" I felt a chuckle reverberate through him.

Scowling, I crossed my arms in front of my chest. I felt like I was two, being carried to my room. "You can put me down now, you know," I said. Sebastian just gave me a look.

"And you won't run away?" He asked, arching an eyebrow.

"No," I said. Lies. They are all lies. I will run like hell back to Ciel's study to eavesdrop on him. As if he could hear my thoughts, Sebastian just smirked, and refused to put me down. My scowl deepened, and I pouted as I reached my room.

He set me down on my bed, and I continued scowling at him, crossing my arms like a petulant child. He did realize that as soon as he left, I was running back to the study? How did he expect me to stay in here? My question was soon answered by the sound of the door locking, as he left the room. I gaped in shock at the door for a moment.

"S- SEBASTIAN MICHAELIS! YOU DID NOT JUST LOCK ME IN MY BLOODY ROOM!" I yelled through the door. I haven't been locked in my room for ten years! This was ridiculous. I got up, and hammered on the door. No one answered. _Wait... I'm so stupid._ I know how to pick locks. Haha... Smirking to myself, I set about doing that.

I picked the lock in under thirty seconds. New record! Smirking, I opened to door... only to be greeted with the sight of Sebastian. Deflating, I hung my head. Shit. Sebastian picked me up once again.

"Let me go!" I howled, twisting and turning, trying to get free to no avail. Shit, he's strong. Why is he so strong? _Oh yeah... _Stupid me.

Sebastian just threw me down on my bed again. And before I could even register his movements, my right leg was gone. I froze, and then started yelling upon seeing my prosthetic in Sebastian's arms.

"That's cheating!" I yelled at him, as he left, "That was low, Michaelis!" I heard a chuckle coming from him, as he locked the door once again.

Scowling to myself, I made myself as comfortable as possible, without moving too much. It was hard to do, since I couldn't even get up to get a book when I didn't have a crutch or anything. Luckily, I had my trusty iPod, thank god. I spent the next hour pouting to myself and playing solitaire on my iPod. Solitaire was strangely addictive. Whenever I wanted to play something that didn't require as much concentration as chess, I would play it. It was amazingly entertaining.

After a little more than an hour had passed, Ciel opened the door, and entered my room. Turning off my iPod, I sat up straight, my arms crossed in front of me.

"Yes?" I asked coldly, staring him down. "How can I help you?" I asked, still acting superior. Ciel sighed at me.

"Don't do that, it doesn't suit you," Ciel said, rolling his eyes. He then tossed my prosthetic to me. I immediately reattached it, it had felt weird when it was gone. I immediately hopped down from my place on the bed.

"So," I said, drawing the word out, "Did you murder Alois and bury him in a shallow grave in the woods, or is he still alive?" I admit, I was worried about the blond demon's health. Ciel didn't seem that keen for letting him stay alive. Ciel sighed at my question.

"Yes, he's still alive," he drawled, arching an eyebrow. Dammit, don't act cute. I'm trying to stay mad at you! _Oh, screw it._ I ran and hugged him. He seemed less surprised than usual, when I randomly hugged him. He's learned that I'm a hugging person. I will literally hug anyone in my presence.

Letting go of him, I slapped him across the face. "That's for having Sebastian take my prosthetic away from me." I crossed my arms in front of my chest, and stared him down. It probably wasn't smart to slap a demon, but I didn't care at the moment. Ciel glared at me, but didn't move forwards. "Now," I said cheerfully, doing a complete 180, "You owe me Doctor Who!" I took hold of his wrist, and started to drag him towards the main room. He allowed me to drag him, unlike the previous times.

"Bloody, bipolar woman..." Ciel muttered behind me. I turned to give him the evil eye.

"What was that?" I asked dangerously, my eyes bright with the fire inside of me. Ciel's visible eye widened.

"Nothing," he answered quickly. I beamed cheerfully at him.

"That's what I thought, darling."

~o0o~

I had convinced Ciel to binge watch Doctor Who pretty easily. We were now on the last episode of the third season. He still hadn't told me who his favorite Doctor was yet. Well, to be honest, I didn't know mine either. They were all so awesome! I had finished watching season eight a few days ago. And I'm just saying: I called it, I called it, suck it. That is all.

Somehow, when we were watching, I ended up snuggled up to Ciel as I usually do. He took out my braid so he could play with it.

"Don't do that," I grumbled, "I hate having my hair down."

"Why?" Ciel inquired. I turned to look at him, with an incredulous look on my face.

"You have _obviously_ never had long hair- it is awful. Sure, it's pretty, but it goes everywhere! I hate having hair in my face, so I put it back," I explained passionately, throwing my arms out. Boys just didn't understand! Ciel raised an eyebrow, before ignoring me and undoing it anyway. I don't know why or how, but whenever we did this, he ended up playing with my hair. I didn't mind much, I loved it when people played with my hair. But it unfortunately put me straight to sleep. I never lasted long into the night when we were watching Netflix.

I yawned into my hand. "You know, I'm actually thinking about cutting it really short," I commented idly while playing idly with part of my bangs. I really did hate having long hair... Ciel's grip tightened on my hand. I winced slightly, as a few hairs disconnected from my scalp.

"Don't," Ciel ordered. I turned my head to look at him again.

"Why?" I inquired. Why would he care.

"It's better this way," he said gruffly. Smirking, I turned my head, so he couldn't see. He would never admit it, but he had a strange obsession with my hair. I don't know what it is. I relaxed again, pulling up my blanket to cover my shoulders, as we continued watch Doctor Who late into the night. Neither of us noticed the door shutting as Alois quietly left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey!~~~ It took me longer than usual to write this. I finally watched Book of Circus! (I already knew what was going to happen, since I read the manga, but I still cried. They didn't deserve to die...) Anywho, I hope you liked the chapter- and no making fun of how terrible my excuse for Alois being alive is! I know it's awful, and it doesn't make complete sense. But just deal with it for me, (I really wanted Alois in here...)

Onto reviews!

MagentaPeace: I'm glad the plot twist was a surprise. (I hate Claude too! ;)

Esmereilda: I liked Ciel's response to Thea eavesdropping ;). I hope you liked the chapter and Alois!

Paxloria: I explained it! Hope it lived up to your expectations. I'm glad you like the story.

Kingscastles: I'm glad you liked binge-reading this. And no, Ciel isn't her cousin. She figured that out after she found out he was a demon. I should probably put that in somewhere...

Please R&amp;R!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

I slowly woke up, drifting out of a warm sleep. My mind was fuzzy and I had slept better than I had in a while. Humming contentedly, I started to snuggle closer, my head nuzzling my pillow. _Wait... didn't I fall asleep on Ciel again?_ I opened my eyes, and immediately froze upon seeing our position. Sure, I had fallen asleep on Ciel before; snuggling next to him didn't bother me anymore. This was worse; WAY worse.

I was pretty much lying on top of him, my face in the crook of his neck, and my legs around his. My arms were tightly wrapped around his waist. Usually when I fell asleep on him, I was snuggled up to him, maybe my arms around him. This was me lying on top of him. Freezing, my eyes widened and I squeaked.

I hopped up faster than humanly possible, supporting myself with one arm, I started babbling, "I- I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that!" Ciel smirked at the blush on my face. I scowled at him, but it didn't really work, since I was as red as a tomato. I tried to get up fully, but Ciel didn't let me. He caught hold of my arm, not letting me get fully off the sectional.

Him holding me to him, I blushed even harder. Every time I tried to get away, I would just bump into his chest. "Let me go," I ordered, trying to appear threatening and massively failing. Nevertheless, Ciel released me, smirking as he did so. I left the room stiffly, trying to preserve at least a little of my dignity; not that I had much to begin with. The door shut tightly behind me, and I practically ran to my room.

I shook my head, trying to rid myself of thoughts running rampant through my head. This was not helping the-feeling-that-must-not-be-named. _You like him... _Gah- stop it! I hate my brain sometimes. Most of the time, actually.

Tugging on a shirt and jeans, I got ready, but then was too lazy to actually do anything. I usually am, as a matter of fact. I don't enjoy doing things, I'd rather just sit around and read. Or go on the internet, which ever comes first.

Sprawling out on my bed, like a starfish, I propped my head up with one arm and read fanfiction on my iPod. Fanfiction was life. One of my favorite parts about finishing a book or TV series, was the fanfiction afterward. The only thing I didn't like was the lack of correct grammar. Ick.

I was reading for over an hour, before my bedroom door busted open. Turning my head to see who it was, I was greeted with the sight of Alois waltzing into my room.

"May I help you?" I inquired, arching an eyebrow at him. He ignored me for a moment, examining my room with a critical eye. After he was done doing that, he turned to look at me.

"I'm bored," he moaned, falling face down on my fluffy comforter. I arched an eyebrow at him.

"Join the club," I mumbled, turning back to my iPod. He took hold of my wrist.

"Entertain me," he whined. Taking my hand away, I ignored him again in favor of my chess game.

"So, I'm guessing that you're staying here from now on?" I asked boredly. I was still slightly surprised that Ciel didn't murder him.

"Yeah," Alois answered, drawing the word out.

"Fantastic!" I said sarcastically.

"Oi!" I smirked at him, still playing chess on my iPod. I was almost finished, I could checkmate the king in the next three moves. "Entertain me!" Alois exclaimed again.

"No, do it yourself," I retorted. Alois started groaning, before then screaming into the comforter. After a few minutes, I gave up.

"_Fine._" I rolled over on my back, looking down at Alois. "What do you want to do?" I asked tiredly. Alois's face brightened into a grin.

"Come on!" He grabbed my wrist and then started running down the hall, pulling me along.

"Jesus Christ!" I yelled loudly. Was this what I was like? I now felt bad for Ciel- I was unbearable. Alois just turned to grin at me. It was impossible to get him to let go, especially since he was a demon. Plus I wasn't strong in the first place. He ended up dragging me to the main room- AKA, my second home.

When he finally let go of me, I sprawled on the couch. "So, what do you want to do?" I asked lazily. I was too comfortable to do anything- I didn't want to move. Alois looked down at me, almost disappointed in my lack of energy. Well he can screw it, I do what I want! Plus I'm just lazy...

"I don't know!" Alois said dramatically, throwing his arms up in the air before falling on the couch. I rolled my eyes at him- he _was_ strangely like me.

"Fine," I said, rolling up to a sitting position, "Do you wanna watch a movie?" I asked hopefully. Alois immediately brightened at the idea.

"What?" He asked, propping his head up with on of his arms. He had a look on his face like an expectant puppy.

"One second, I have an idea," I said with a mysterious smile. Sprinting out of the room- well, as much as a sprint as a girl with one leg is capable of- I quickly made my way to Ciel's study.

"Oh, Ci~el!" I exclaimed cheerfully, opening his door. Looking up at me over his papers, he rolled his eyes at me before directing his attention back to his 'work'.

"Yes, Thea?" He asked, in an exasperated tone. I brightened nevertheless.

"Alois and I are bored, will you come watch a movie with us?" I asked hopefully.

"No." _Well then..._ I pouted dramatically.

"Come on," I begged, crossing my arms on Ciel's desk so I was looking up at him.

"No." Had he ever just said yes? He always did this. I gave him my best sad puppy eyes. He sighed at me. "I'm working," he explained. I scoffed at him.

"None of your work can't afford to wait. And," I said, seeing him open his mouth to retort, "I know you're not working on the problem with Claude You obviously did all you could last night with Alois. You have nothing more to do until he makes another move." Ciel looked shocked at my deduction. Well, it was obvious. He- not really needing sleep- could've stayed up all night working. Plus, there's only so much that could be done right now. Ciel sighed.

"Alright, fine," he sighed, getting up. I beamed at him, before gripping his wrist and dragging him to the main room- just like Alois had done with me. Wow... we really _are_ similar. That could be bad, with two of me running around.

After we arrived back at the main room, Ciel got situated on the sectional, and I turned on Netflix. I turned to face the boys. They seemed to be getting along semi-well, at least for two ex-arch enemies.

"Have either of you seen The Avengers?" I asked curiously. I would still play it if they had, but I wanted to know. Both of them shook their head. Ciel looked apprehensive, while Alois looked excited. I rolled my eyes at Ciel. You think he would at least trust me a _little_. But no, nothing. I feel slightly offended. Rolling my eyes at them, I put it on.

Laying back on the couch with my knees up to my chest, I grinned. I loved this movie. Mainly because of Loki. _Why do I always have a crush on the psychopaths? _Better yet, why is it always the pretty ones? The movie started, and I could tell that they both enjoyed it. Ciel seemed to like action movies. I wasn't sure about Alois, but I think he's the same.

When the part where Thor landed on the plane came, I yelled out cheerfully, "Goldilocks!" Both Ciel and Alois looked at me strangely. Ignoring them, I continued grinning. I was incapable of watching a movie without commentary. _That had always annoyed my parents... _My mood dampened a little. I missed them so much. They were all I had for the better part of my life. I never had many friends, and after Orion died, they were all I had. Now I didn't have anyone. _Well,_ I amended, _I have Ciel._ Ciel did seem to be becoming an important part in my life. I'm not sure how to feel about that.

I spent most of the movie, holding my knees to my chest and cheering whenever Loki came on screen. He was my favorite super villain. I still thought that he deserved sympathy. I didn't think he was _completely_ evil. Then again, I'm biased. As it turned out, neither Ciel nor Alois minded my commentary. Thank God for that.

When the movie ended, I stretched before bouncing up. "I entertained you, you're welcome," I said to Alois. Ciel's eyes widened.

"Then why did you drag me here?" Ciel demanded, sounded exasperated. I beamed at him cheerfully.

"Because I like watching you suffer. It's _fun_," I retorted playfully. Ciel sighed at me while rolling his eyes. I merely continued to smile at him cheerfully. Alois continued to lay there, sprawled out on the arm of the sectional.

"Will you watch something else with me?" Alois begged, his head looking at me upside down.

"Ah," I said, pretending to think on it, "No, I'm going to go explore." Ciel sighed at that.

"Please don't go anywhere you aren't supposed to," Ciel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Can't promise anything, dearie," I answered cheerfully. I was surprised that Ciel put up with me like this. If I were him, I would have murdered me a long time ago. _Meh, oh well._ Alois was still complaining dramatically.

"But then I'll be bored!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air. Well, as much as he could, since he was upside down.

"That is not my problem," I retorted, starting to leave the room. Ciel got a strange look on his face, before standing up.

"Thea, can I talk to you for a moment?" Ciel said icily. Without waiting for an answer, he took hold of my wrist, and started to pull me towards the door.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, "What the hell?" Ciel did let go until we were in his study.

When he finally did let go, I demanded, "What was that for?" Ciel looked away for a moment, as if ashamed of something. I arched an eyebrow. _What was this about?_

"I don't think you should be around Alois too much," he finally answered. My eyebrow arched even higher. What- _oh my god, is he jealous?_ No, he couldn't be.. could he?

"Why not?" I inquired, with an incredulous look on my face. Ciel looked away from me for a moment and- was that a blush? It was faint, but it was a blush. Holy crap- who replaced the Ciel I knew?

"He's bipolar and a sociopath," Ciel deadpanned. I raised an eyebrow at that.

"You're a sociopath too, and I'm a psychopath. Do you really want to play that game?" I asked condescendingly. Ciel scowled at me.

"Still, don't," he said forcefully. My expression softened.

"I'm not going to avoid him, but I'll try. Okay?" I asked. Ciel got a more relaxed expression on his face.

"Yes," he said tiredly, sitting down in his chair. He looked like a pouting child. Smiling at him, I quickly pecked his cheek before leaving. I didn't see the shocked expression on his face as I left, but once I closed the door, I leaned against the wall. What in hell had possessed me to do that? I was a freaking moron. Putting my head in my hands, I groaned to myself. _Idiot! I'm a freaking idiot! Why the hell did I do that!_ Gah, sometimes I hate myself.

Forcing all thoughts related to Ciel away, I made my way to the music room. I hadn't played piano since the day that I had my vision. I hadn't had any visions that powerful after that, but I did have little flashes. I'm not sure what they mean, though.

The music room was different from when I had last seen it. Before, everything was coated in a thick layer of dust and dirt. This time, it was sparkling. Evidently, Sebastian had been in here after he found out that I played piano. I sat down on the piano bench, ignoring the sheet music. The thing is, I actually can't read music- I play by ear. I can hear a song, and then recreate it perfectly on piano. I don't know what it is, but that's how my brain works.

My fingers hesitated over the keys, what song did I want to play? I wasn't quite sure... Oh, I know. I grinned devilishly. Every week, I would go on YouTube and find free music to put on my iPod- usually English covers or vocaloids. I knew just the one to sing.

I cleared my throat and began to play.

"Where the hell did I come from? What sort of look do I feel like putting on? No one knows, I'll tell you why I'm a dream-eating demon colored monochrome, yeah that's right.""See this missy over here? She's got a lack of sleep and she's so full of fear take the service I provide just let me cast a spell that make the bad dreams hide!""How about we seal the deal with our pinkies now? OW!" "Havin' scary dreams are we? Just leave it all up to me! let me eat up everything completely." "Leaving you without a worry now you're sleeping peacefully Just forget all of the bad things that you used to see!"

"See the missy over there? She wants another favor, there's another scare Oh, you know, I can't say no This sort of thing, I guess it makes me happy so." "How about we seal the deal with a little kiss Ah~." "All the dreams you want me to bring I will give you everything I'll take all the trouble under my wing. Every happy sweeter story, and some naughty fantasies I'll eat everything! Every single dream you hold for me!" "It's pilin' up more and more every single dream you've got in store." "Tell everything to me every single thing you want me to be." "Just so you're knowing the fee cause the price you pay, no, It ain't cheap." "You can't get away from here from this black and white paradise!" "Well... When the full moon rises again My work it has met it's end, and the fee are you aware what it'll be?" "Everything in those pretty eyes all the color will be mine Can I just lick it up? Everything that you've got! Ah." "Don't be making that face at me welcome to reality! Ain't this what you wanted everything to be?" "Waste time dreaming, you know it too dreams will never be coming true So enjoy your stay in a world of monochrome days!"

I smiled to myself as I finished the song. I had immediately fallen in love with this song when I heard it. It was a rather fast paced song, and that just added to its awesomeness for me. I generally preferred fast music, especially when I was writing.

I heard a floorboard creak outside the music room, and I immediately stopped playing. Standing up, I strode to the door, and peeked out. There was no one there. Glancing suspiciously down the hall, I shut the door, and locked it. Even though I didn't see anyone, didn't necessarily mean that there was no one there. Oh, the downsides of living in a house full of demons.

My hands paused over the keys again. There was a song that I've been wanting to play for a while. It wasn't a pop song, in fact, it was rather sad. Then again, sometimes I liked feeling sad. I don't know why, but I do. Swallowing, I began to play, my fingers dancing over the keyboard. Clearing my throat, I started to sing.

"God of death with a gaze of woe, spoke to me and he told me so: 'Fast, before I will lose control, please, have mercy and save my soul.'" "All the pain you feel, I am sure you didn't wish for that And the looks that you bear are so grim, those you wear." "Shining bright, she is like the sun, waiting there for her fate to come Holding out her hand with the flow, smiling as she then told you so:" "'It is quite alright, I shall take the darkness that you hold And I will change your shape, as a bird you can escape." "You can fly to place far away, in the sky you are free everyday If you don't have a goal or a prey, then it's fine 'cause with me you can stay'." "White as told, wings unfold, here it stays, following always." "Many more are wanting now her to save them all somehow And the girl was reaching out saving them without a doubt." "Slowly as all the birds were to fly, she was in there among in the sky 'Cause the birds were all covered in white, she had turned just as dark as the night." "She's consumed by the darkness they bore, she will never wake up anymore 'Cause she used all the strength she would hold, now her body is finally cold." "Grieving bird, gave his word, took the pain, darkness and all vain." "Through the clouds up he would fly, birds in black where all over the sky Now you shine like the gold on the sea, all because you are Soleil."

I finished the song out, my hands resting on the keys, even after I was done. I loved that song with a passion. There was so much love, and sadness, and sacrifice.

I always thought it was strange how there was good sadness, and then bad sadness. Good sadness was being reminded of love and loss. Bad, was depression. And oh how destructive that was. Depression could tear apart your mind limb from limb. It could destroy you completely, and utterly. I should know. I was saved right before I went over the edge.

I heard a sound behind me, and I spun around to see who it was. It was Ciel. "How did you even get in here?" I demanded, shocked. Ciel merely raised an eyebrow at me, as if asking, 'Really?'. I looked at the open door behind him.

"What is it with you and following me?" I asked wearily. Ciel smirked at me, before sauntering over and sitting on the piano bench with me. He started to play. Raising an eyebrow, I played along with him. I didn't know he could play the piano. Well, I guess having over two hundred years with not much to do lets you expand your skill set.

Ciel matched me perfectly, it was almost as if he could read my mind. I smiled to myself, as we continued to play. It was nice being able to play with someone else. No one that I knew used to play piano. I mean, a lot played violin or viola, or even cello or bass. But not very many played piano that I know of. That was surprising to me, since the piano is generally a very popular instrument.

We simultaneously rose to a crescendo, before ending in a finale. When we finished, I turned to Ciel and smiled at him. He smiled back- a real proper smile, not a smirk. But this time, there was something in his eye. He moved closer, his lips parted. My eyes widened, was he doing what I thought he was doing? But I didn't move away- I couldn't. It was as if I wasn't able to move away. I will never admit to this, but I moved closer, as if seeking out his touch.

Everything seemed slowed down, more real. Colors became more vibrant, thoughts slowed. But then Ciel seemed to snap out of it, realizing what he was doing. He stood up abruptly, walking out of the room without another word. I sat there for a moment, wondering what the hell just happened- or what didn't happen. _Was he about to..._ Oh my God, he was. My eyes widened. And I didn't even fight against it! I played along like some character in a sappy romance novel! Oh god, I hate myself right now.

Standing up, I slammed the key cover down, and strode out of the room. I quickly made my way towards my room, not bothering to keep quiet near Ciel's study. I didn't hear anyone inside of it, but that didn't mean he wasn't there. I didn't care at the moment. Once I was in my room, I sprawled on my bed, looking blankly at the ceiling.

_What the hell just happened?_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Holla! I'm back. I hoped you like this chapter, I know, it kind of went all over the place. I'm sorry, but I'm not going back and fixing it. Way too tired for that crap... Also, one of my grammar places wasn't working, so it may not be completely error-free. I'll edit it later, though. So sorry if it sucks! I also edited chapter 7, just a little bit. Basically, Thea mentions that Ciel faked being related to her.

BTW, the first song is Dream Eating Monochrome Baku by Koko. (Awesome song). And the second is Soleil by Joydreamer. I spent several hours surfing on YouTube, just looking at songs. I found a couple new ones that I like. YouTube is amazing! (But most vocaloids make me cry. :( )

ONTO REVIEWS!

Reviews:

darkshadow400: I'm so glad you like the story! That makes me so happy. I hope you liked the chapter! It is always good to know that people like this story.

FluffyDarkUnicorn: I hope you like Alois in this fic. I actually didn't used to like him, and then I read Devils like to Dance by HateWeasel and I liked him a lot. (I now ship Cielois). Don't judge me! I hope you liked the chapter.

MagentaPeace: Actually one of the reasons why I'm excited to have Claude in this, is so I can kill him. And this time, he'll get a painful death. (Oh, God. I sound like a psychopath.) I'm glad that you love Thea!

Esmereilda: I hope you like Alois in here, he's such a strange character to write! But, he is actually a lot like Thea.

Paxloria: ...~Can't tell you~~~... Spoilers.

Please R&amp;R!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

I awoke from my dream covered in a sheen of sweat. I panted for a moment, before realizing where I was. I shook my head, before pressing my palms into my eyes. The details of my dreams were trickling away, like water through a sieve. I grimaced, trying to remember what had me so worked up.

All I could remember, was that I was playing music, on the piano, and a pair of red, slitted eyes. And there was something about darkest day... I couldn't remember anything more than that. I gave up, relaxing with my legs spread out in front of me. It wasn't a nightmare, I knew that much. I hoped that it wasn't a vision, but somehow I knew it was. I shivered, rubbing my forearms together. Sometimes, I hated this. I didn't want to know. When I didn't know the whole thing, or I tried to avoid it, I usually ended up causing it. Foreknowledge was not a good thing to have.

Tiredly, I stood up, my muscles screaming at me. I winced, supporting myself with one arm against my bed. Apparently, the vision had taken a toll on my body as well. I limped to the bathroom, where I promptly started to take a hot shower. I sighed, as the steaming water hit my body. My muscles instantly relaxed from their previous tense state.

When I finished, I stepped out of the shower, water dripping from my body to the floor. Ignoring it, I got dressed in a skirt that went to my knees and a plain, white shirt. I very rarely wore skirts- mainly because it showed off my prosthetic. I had always been self conscious about it, even if I pretended I wasn't. But, I've gotten used to it in the time I've spent here. That was another thing I was grateful to Ciel for.

Oh... crap. I remembered the incident with Ciel yesterday. Had he really been about to kiss me? A feeling grew in my chest, that I didn't recognize. I wasn't quite sure how to feel about that actually. I shouldn't- but... No. I stared at myself in the mirror, sternly. _He's not even human_, I told myself. _Plus you don't even know if he likes you..._

Putting that thought aside for now, I finished brushing my hair. I hesitated, as I started to put my hair back in its usual braid. I just... didn't feel like it today. So I left it down, the ends brushing my waist. Most of the time, I forgot how long my hair was, since it was up all the time. So whenever I put it down, I felt like I should donate it to cancer patients.

Walking back into my room, I checked the time. It was about six in the morning. But it didn't really matter, because I was the only person who really slept in the manor. I mean, Ciel did sleep- but he didn't really need it. He often went without it; that is, unless I fell asleep on him. My mind drifted back to the last time I had done that. Unconsciously, I blushed. Gah! No! I shook my head, as if trying to physically rid myself of those thoughts. It didn't really help, but it made me feel better. Sometimes I hate my brain...

I was too filled with energy to just be lazy like I usually do, so I walked out of my room. Almost immediately, a sharp pain hit me.

"Gah! I've been shot!" I said dramatically to thin air, clutching my lower stomach. It was that time of the month... Hurray for being a girl! Note the sarcasm. What I don't understand is why girls get all the crap? We bleed once a month, and get cramps, we have to get pregnant and give birth, but we're also considered lesser than men. Explain to me how this is fair? Exactly, case in point.

Struggling towards the bathroom down the hall, I quickly took two Advil and changed my underwear. The medication didn't affect me immediately, but I knew it would later. Sighing in contentment, I walked back into the hall. Abruptly, I was hit with the sudden craving for orange juice. _See what being on a period does to you?_

Overcome with my craving, I made my way to the kitchen, in hopes of finding some of the delicious drink. I opened the fridge, hopefully. Unfortunately, there was none there. Crushed, I turned around, to see Sebastian standing behind me. I perked up, maybe he knew where some was?

"Sebastian?" I asked hopefully. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yes, Miss Thea?" He inquired, confused as to why I was in the kitchen, sneaking around.

"Do you have orange juice?" I asked hopefully. Sebastian appeared even more confused than before.

"No..." Sebastian said slowly. I deflated, forcing crocodile tears into my eyes.

"But I want orange juice! Can't you just use your super, awesome, demon powers to make me some?" I said, looking up at him with big eyes. Sebastian looked at me, even stranger than before. He already knew I was- at least partially- insane. Why did they even bother to question me anymore?

"The young master ordered me to never do anything like that," Sebastian answered smoothly after a moment.

"Bullshit." Sebastian raised an eyebrow at my language. He had finally just given up trying to correct my profanity. I swore like a sailor, and I won't apologize for it. It's not my fault these people are from Victorian England. "Come on," I wheedled, "Just this once. It'll be our little secret."

"No." I pouted at him, looking up at him through my eyelashes.

"Please?" I asked.

"I cannot disobey an order," Sebastian replied. I pouted, but I knew it to be true. I still wanted orange juice though... Wait. I can just make Ciel reverse the order! But... I deflated slightly. That required talking to him, I can't avoid him. Shit. Oh well, the things we do for cravings.

"Wait right here," I said urgently to Sebastian. He raised an eyebrow, looking at me, probably concerned about my mental state.

"Miss Thea..." I ran through the door before he could finish. I heard him sigh right before the door slammed shut. Running down the halls, I made my way to Ciel's study. I hesitated right outside it, before going right in as I usually did. Ciel raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yes?" He asked, slightly coldly. I deflated slightly, it seemed he still remembered last night. I brightened, even so.

"I really want orange juice, can you un-order Sebastian, so he can make me some?" I asked hopefully. Ciel's eye brow arched even higher.

"No..." He answered slowly. I pouted at him.

"Why not?" I asked, acting like a child.

"Because I- are you injured?" Ciel asked, alarmed, looking directly at me after a moment. His eyes swept over my form, looking for some kind of injury. His face portrayed confusion after a moment when he didn't see one.

"No..." I answered confusedly. What was he talking about? No, I wasn't injured in any way, shape, or form

"Then why do I smell blood?" Ciel asked, his eyebrows knitting together. My eyes widened, and I rolled my eyes at him. _Could he not guess this?_ It's called being a girl!

"Guess, bitch," I deadpanned bluntly, crossing my arms across my chest. Ciel looked confused for a moment, before getting a look of shocked realization on his face. It looks like he mistakenly, overlooked that little detail of having a girl in the house.

"Oh!" He exclaimed, getting a slight blush on his face. He looked strangely adorable like that...

"Oh my God, you're blushing!" I laughed, pointing at his face. I had only seen him blush once before- if that. This was hilarious! He got flustered just like any other male did on this subject. Honestly, was it the same for every species? I'm beginning to think so. Ciel scowled at me, before clearing his throat.

"Anyway, I can't, you'll have to live without orange juice," Ciel stated boredly, lifting up his papers to hide his face. Sighing, I pulled his papers back down.

"Come on, it's just one exception," I begged. Ciel raised an eyebrow at me, before looking at me coldly.

"You do realize, that you can just have Sebastian make you orange juice, _from actual_ _oranges_?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow at my stupidity. For a genius, I was rather stupid, actually. I may be book smart- but I certainly didn't have any common sense, what-so-ever. I had a dumbfounded expression on my face. Then, I straightened up, no longer leaning over Ciel's desk.

"I'm a flippin' moron," I stated, walking out of Ciel's study. _Wow, Thea, great thinking_. I'm so smart. When I got back to the kitchen Sebastian was still there with a smirk on his face, as if he knew exactly how that conversation had gone.

"You knew that you could just make it with oranges, but you didn't bother to tell me?" I asked, pouting. Sebastian's smirk widened.

"I was seeing how long it would take you," Sebastian commented dryly. I playfully glared at him, through narrowed eyes.

"Assholes. The whole lot of you," I grumbled, throwing up my arms in the air. Sebastian gave me a look, smirking at me. "Sebastian, will you please make me orange juice?" I asked, making my eyes super wide, and innocent. Sebastian's eyes softened a little, but only because I knew I looked like a cat when I did this.

In a few seconds flat, Sebastian was holding out a glass of fresh orange juice towards me. Grinning, I took it, and drained half of it in one, large gulp.

"So Sebastian," I said, swallowing, "How old are you, exactly?" I admit, I was curious. What wonders must he have seen... Sebastian seemed surprised by my interest. He tilted his head, as if pondering on it.

"I'm not entirely sure," Sebastian answered honestly, "I've lost count. Though, the first thing I remember seeing on Earth, was when the pyramids of Giza were being built. But that was when I was far along in my life." My eyes widened, he had seen the pyramids of Giza? When they were being built? That was amazing!

"What were they like, back then?" I asked eagerly, I loved Egypt. "Did they worship the Egyptian gods? What was it like?"

"Yes, they did worship the Egyptian deities. I had a rather pleasant experience there. I had stayed with the Pharaoh in his palace, and he entertained me. Though, some things did go awry, but I do believe they ended up naming a deity, after my name at the time," Sebastian mused. I tilted my head, I am obsessed with mythology, and knew my Egyptian mythology pretty well. I wonder who they could have named Sebastian after?

"What was your name?" I asked curiously.

"Set." My eyes widened, until they were saucers.

"What did you do to have them name _Set_ after you?" I demanded. Set was an evil god in Egyptian mythology, the brother of Osiris. He trapped, and killed his brother, by trapping him in a sarcophagus. He also cut him into several pieces, so he couldn't be resurrected. But nonetheless, Osiris's wife, Isis, found all the parts of his body, and resurrected him, making him ruler of the underworld. Sebastian smirked, and I reconsidered my previous question. "You know what, never mind. I don't want to know." Sebastian nodded slightly, still smirking at me.

I continued talking to Sebastian, asking about his past. He seemed genuinely happy to have someone to tell stories to. He obviously didn't know anyone who cared. I was just curious, he had lived for so long. But I also found out that he had started the black death. I knew he was a demon, but still. Wow. I don't know whether to be impressed, or disgusted. Right now, I'm feeling a little bit of both.

Sebastian tilted his head, as if listening to someone far away. I sighed, that was his signal for Ciel is calling him, and he can't entertain me anymore. I was convinced that Ciel took Sebastian away, just so I was bored.

"The young master is calling me," Sebastian commented, before bowing slightly, and leaving the kitchen. Hopping down from the high stool, I put my cup in the sink. But as I turned away, my hand cut itself on a knife on the side of the sink.

"Ow!" I yelped, before holding my hand up to inspect the damage. It wasn't too bad, but it would need a bandage. I made my way steadily towards the bathroom. Stretching, so I was able to reach the top shelf, I finally reached a bandage. Quickly putting it on, I glanced at myself in the mirror on reflex, getting ready to leave. But I wasn't alone in the mirror.

Instead of my reflection in the bathroom, an unfamiliar place was reflected. I was in a dark manor- not Ciel's, but a different one, and the walls were dark navy. I was wearing a black, backless dress, and was facing someone in black, who's back was to the mirror. I couldn't see his face, but I had a feeling it was Claude. My reflection backed away, a terrified look on her- my- face. The figure moved forward with every step she- I- took. As she turned to run away, he caught her, and pulled her to him. She continued struggling against him, but then went still after a moment, fear prevalent in her eyes.

When the scene faded, it was replaced by myself- eyes wide, and my body trembling. But Claude was behind me in the reflected bathroom. Looking down at me, he caressed my face with one of his white, gloved hands.

"Soon, my dear," he murmured, his eyes flashing red. I flinched away, even though I couldn't feel it. Temper and fear getting the better of me, I raised both of my fists, and smashed the mirror. The glass fell to the floor, shattering, and most likely getting stuck in my skin. But I didn't care- I couldn't feel it. I was panting- with what emotion, exactly; I do not know.

I heard loud footsteps coming towards the bathroom, but I didn't move an inch. I just continued standing there, shaking, and staring at the place where the mirror once had been. The door to the bathroom, slammed open, and I heard Ciel coming towards me.

"Thea! What happened?" He demanded. He softened, after he saw the expression on my face. My strength finally giving out, I started to fall towards the floor. Ciel caught me, before I hit the ground, and held me, so I wasn't standing on any glass.

"It's alright, it'll be okay," he reassured unconvincingly. I started straight ahead. Will it?

I sat on the now clean counter, Ciel taking the shards of glass out of my leg. As it turns out, it was a lot. This is why I never wear skirts- something like this happens. I still didn't understand why Ciel didn't just make Sebastian do it, I guess he just wanted to make sure I was okay. I stared blankly at the wall, still trying to process what had happened. Ciel glanced up at me.

"What happened?" He asked softly. Even with his soft tone, I could tell that he would pressure me, if he had to. I took a shuddering breath, before letting it out in one gasp of air.

"I was in the bathroom to get a band aid, because I cut myself on a knife," I explained, my voice no longer trembling. Ciel nodded at me, as if telling me to continue. "But when I looked in the mirror, it was different. I wasn't here, I was in this house. I was facing someone, and I had a scared expression on my face. I tried to run, but they caught me. But then it faded, and then I saw myself, here, and Claude was behind me." Ciel took a shard out rather harshly, when he heard that. I winced, and his expression softened. "He then touched my cheek," I continued, "And said some shit about 'soon, my dear'. I don't know what that means."

"I wish I could tell you that you were hallucinating, but we both know that isn't quite true," Ciel said, after a moment's pause. I smirked slightly at him, but it disappeared, as he pulled out another glass shard.

"Probably wasn't the smartest thing to smash the mirror," I said ruefully, rubbing my palms together. Ciel smirked up at me.

"No, not particularly," he replied. A comfortable silence passed for a moment, before a thought hit me.

"But that's not all," I said, my voice cracking, once more, "Last night, I had a dream which had something about me playing piano, and red eyes. I can't remember anything else, but I'm positive that it was a vision." Ciel had a concentrated look on his face.

"All done," Ciel announced. He helped me off the counter, pulling me close to him in order to do so. I was suddenly struck with the thought, of what almost happened yesterday. I could tell he was too, because he distanced himself a little from me. For some reason, a disappointed feeling grew inside of me at the motion.

"You should rest for the rest of the day," Ciel said, once we were out in the hall.

"Okay," I answered, avoiding his eyes. I made my way towards my room, but I didn't feel safe alone. However, I thought to myself, safe is a relative word for me. I lived in a house full of demons, who I considered 'safe'. But I'm in danger from an 'unsafe' demon. Ironic, no?

But, either way, I didn't want to be alone, and I couldn't spend time with Ciel, because I didn't want to make things worse. So I found Alois, and spent the rest of my day with him in the main room. I liked him, but I missed Ciel. I loved watching Doctor Who with him, and annoying him, and just spending time with him. _Woah, don't go there!_ I tried, unsuccessfully, to shake off these feelings, and attempted to ignore them for the rest of the day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi guys! Hoped you like the chapter! Also, again, may not make sense. But I have an excuse, I'm waterfalling! Boo... Screw being a girl. Being a girl sucks. Anyway, more action next chapter (I already started it!) I've gone back and edited a couple chapters, but just to add some punctuation and such; nothing major. There was something I needed to tell you guys... but I can't remember what it was... Anywho, onto reviews!

Reviews:

Notes-of-Raven: I'm so glad you like it! I'm always happy to find out that people like this fic.

Paxloria: I'm glad that you like it so far, and I'll have Rockwell and SHR in the next chapter- don't worry.

Darkshadow400: I'm glad you liked the chapter! (And I love that song!)

Esmereilda: I'm glad to know that you like it, it really does make me happy. I also thought that Thea needed to have Alois drag her around a bit- it really is like having a sibling! And I'm with you, I don't usually like yaoi.

Avadra: I'm really glad to hear that! I always think that romance and sarcasm belong together. And don't worry, you're grammar is fine!

Please R&amp;R!


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

I was awoken by the sound of knocking on my bedroom door. "Thea," Ciel said, rapping on my door, "Get up, we have to go to the city." I groggily sat up, but Ciel was gone by the time I did so. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, before getting up to get dressed. I wonder what Ciel needed... it most likely had something to do with the Claude case, since my episode yesterday.

I made my way downstairs, to the foyer, after I got dressed in my usual jeans and a t-shirt. Ciel was already waiting down there for me, looking even more impatient than usual.

"So, where are we going?" I asked curiously, skipping the last three steps, by jumping to the floor. Ciel sighed impatiently at me.

"SHR, we have important things to do today," Ciel answered, already walking out the door. Oh, so I was right- it did have to do with Claude escaping. I wonder if Rockwell would have anything on him? I was guessing that they probably didn't, just because they were human. Well, as far as I know. But, I also didn't know much about SHR, so I could be wrong.

Ciel got in the car without waiting for me, and I quickly slid in the passenger seat. We were silent for the entire trip there, a feeling of dread encompassing the car. Ciel merely sat grimly at the wheel of the car, driving along the road. I didn't say anything to break the silence, though, I felt like I shouldn't. I spent the time during the trip to London looking out the window at all the scenery, as I usually did.

When we arrived at SHR, Ciel immediately got out of the car, and strode in, looking every bit like he belonged there. He managed to look really good while doing it, I might add. The wind blew his hair every which way, and he had his coat collar up, so it was brushing his jaw line. I shook my head to myself, as I followed him. Now was not the time for crushing on your demon best friend. _You know, it sounds really wrong when you say it like that..._ We both seemed to have created an unspoken agreement that we would not talk about what _could_ have happened the other night. It was better that way.

SHR was just as busy as it was last time, but it seemed to have increased its number of strange customers. I saw one person, who had bright, fuchsia hair, and matching cat ears that looked like they were real. It was good that Sebastian wasn't here; he'd be following them around everywhere. That man had a cat _obsession_; even more so than me.

I followed Ciel down a busy hallway. I took hold of his jacket, since there were so many people, and I didn't want to get lost. I may be intelligent, but I had no sense of direction, at all. Many of the people/creatures were looking at me with interest, but most ignored me, and continued on their way. Soon enough, however, we arrived at a large, oak door. Ciel rapped on it smartly, surprising me. Who was he here to see?

"Come in," came a familiar, bored voice from inside the room. Ciel opened the door, revealing Rockwell, sitting at a large desk.

"Phantomhive," Rockwell greeted unkindly. She didn't look happy to see him.

"Rockwell," Ciel responded in kind. I looked between the two with a raised eyebrow. They definitely had a rivalry going on there... Rockwell glanced at me for a moment, her face flashing with a quick look of pity. I almost didn't catch it, but when I did, I furrowed my eyebrows. Why was she looking at me like that? Ciel caught the look too. When he did, he gripped my wrist, pulling me closer to him. I was surprised, but I admit... I didn't exactly _mind._

"We have more intell on Claude Faustus," Rockwell said bluntly. Ciel nodded, as if he had been expecting this. I wasn't surprised, I knew that they probably wouldn't call Ciel down for something small. Plus, Ciel had experience with Claude, and since he escaped, they'll need that.

Rockwell motioned for someone to come in. A rather cute-looking young woman walked through the door. In all honesty, she didn't look much younger than me. She had medium brown hair, that was tied back in a ponytail.

"Hello!' She greeted cheerfully, "I'm Sadie, and I'm going to be working with you today!" Wow, was she this happy all the time? Usually I would find that annoying, but it somehow suited her. Wait, what did she mean 'working with'? I turned to Ciel in question.

"What did she mean, 'work with me'?" I asked him warily. I didn't trust Ciel, no matter how much I liked him. Sadie had made it sound, like I wasn't going to be with Ciel and Rockwell.

"I told them that you were psychic, and they're going to run some tests," Ciel confessed, sighing. My eyes widened dangerously.

"You did what now?" I demanded, staring daggers at him. Why would he do that? I didn't go around, telling people that he was a demon! Then again, SHR probably would've found out anyway. But still...

Ciel shrugged carelessly, "I figured that they needed to know."

"Bullshit," I spat. He raised an eyebrow at my profanity, but then shook his head in exasperation.

"Look, either you go peacefully, or they will make you go," Ciel said bluntly. I glanced at the cheerful woman in front of me. She seemed pretty weak, but to work for what was basically a supernatural military, she had to have some combat skills. SHR said that they were 'Supernatural and Human Relations', but I think they took that to mean, destroy and test everything magic-related. Or at least, that's what I had seen so far. I grumbled, before willingly starting to follow Sadie.

"Right this way!" Sadie directed, after the door to the office had closed. I followed her grumpily, unwilling to forgive Ciel. I knew I would later, though- it was just part of my personality. I could hold a grudge against someone until hell froze over, but not against my friends.

I followed Sadie into an unfamiliar room, that was being used as a lab.

"Sit right there," she said cheerfully, motioning to the counter. I obeyed, hefting myself up. It was slightly difficult with only one leg, but I managed- I'd done far worse than that, with only one leg. Sadie got out a clipboard, and took out the pencil that was behind her ear.

"So, Thea, how frequent do you usually have 'visions'?" Sadie asked seriously, her pencil poised to write. Her cheerful demeanor mostly disappeared, being replaced with seriousness. I raised my eyebrows at her question.

"Uh, it really depends. Usually about once a month, during a good period. But if I'm going under emotional stress, then it's more frequent," I answered truthfully. That was usually true, but I seemed to have less visions at the manor. I honestly don't know why that is. Logically, I should have had more, since my parents had passed away semi-recently. And for the week after they did, I had visions and nightmares almost nonstop. But, once I started to stay with Ciel, they had mysteriously disappeared. You would think that staying in a house full of demons would have _increased_ my visions, but no. I'm still not entirely sure why.

"And do they always come as dreams?" Sadie asked, writing down what I had said on her paper. I shifted uncomfortably, and she noticed.

"Um... No, not always," I said, after a moment. Sadie raised an eyebrow, and marked something on her clipboard.

"Hmm... Interesting," Sadie remarked to herself. "What other forms do they come in?" I swallowed nervously. I wasn't used to talking about this to people, and this seemed too much like an interrogation to me.

"Sometimes I just get a feeling that something is going to happen, and sometimes, I just pass out, and start spouting stuff in my sleep. But I don't remember it when I wake up- at least, most of the time," I answered nervously. I cleared my throat. "But last night... Something happened that has never happened before. I don't even know if it was a vision." Sadie arched an eyebrow, as if urging me to continue. I took a deep breath, before starting. "Last night... Again, I don't even know if this was a vision or not. But when I looked in the mirror, I saw myself in a strange manor, facing someone with an expression of terror on my face." I omitted the part about seeing Claude in the mirror afterward, since I didn't even know if she knew about him.

Sadie nodded, and scribbled even more on the clipboard.

"And how would you describe the intensity of your visions?" Sadie inquired. I tilted my head, they had always felt real to me...

"They always are extremely realistic, and I can feel with all of my senses. I never actually know that it's a dream, until I wake up," I answered. Sadie seemed surprised by that. She made a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat, and started writing furiously on her paper.

"So," I said, changing the subject, "There are others like me?" I was curious, I had never met anyone who had powers like mine. I mean, I knew there had to be, somewhere; I had just never met them. I had always felt a sense of solitude in the world, even with my family, and the few friends I managed to keep. Sadie nodded absently, still scribbling furiously on her clipboard, with a concentrating expression.

"Yes, though psychics come in varying degrees of strength. So, some may just get a distinct, bad feeling, others may predict the date and time that someone dies, and exactly how they do so," Sadie replied, finally putting down her clipboard to her side. "Please excuse me for a moment," she said, before walking out of the lab. I sat there, kicking my feet against the table. I was bored just sitting here. I wanted to explore, but I doubt they would take kindly to it. I let out a groan of boredom.

Getting up, I started to walk around, exploring the laboratory. It looked like it was being frequently used. There were half done experiments everywhere, but everything was kept relatively tidy- surprising for scientists. I glanced at one of the experiments, that looked like it had a bowl full of blood in it. Holding my nose, I passed by it.

Letting go of my nose, I took a moment to look over some papers by an experiment. Wow, they got this so wrong... Their calculations were completely incorrect. Almost without realizing it, I picked up a pen nearby, and started to correct their work. Engrossed in my corrections, I didn't notice when someone entered the lab.

"Ahem." Someone cleared their throat, from behind me. I whipped around to face them. There was an unfamiliar man, who seemed about my age, who was wearing a lab coat. He was looking at me with curiosity. "May I help you?" He asked politely. I blushed slightly out of embarrassment.

"No, I was just left in here- and these papers were wrong- so I fixed them," I babbled, nervous at being caught. I mean, I wasn't technically doing anything wrong; but I guess someone could take a stranger snooping around a lab, changing results on papers, pretty wrong. Oops. The man's brow knitted together.

"What do you mean 'wrong'?" He asked.

"Uhh... Well, I noticed that these equations were wrong," I answered, holding the papers out to him, so he could see. He took them, and looked over my corrections. His eyebrows shot up, in surprise.

"Huh," he said, dumbfounded, "You're right." He started looking over a few things in the experiment, and I just stood off to the side. He gazed at me, marveling at my ability. I shifted awkwardly under his gaze, I didn't do well in the spotlight, no matter how small.

"Yeah..." I said awkwardly.

"This is amazing! Is there anything else that you can correct?" He asked eagerly. I nodded hesitantly, before going over to another experiment.

"This is wrong," I stated blandly, "I'm assuming that you're examining the positioning of the atoms in the blood, correct?" He nodded, rapt with attention. I fixed it quickly, so it actually worked. I went around the room, fixing things that needed to be fixed, and nodding in approval at the ones that were already right.

"Amazing! We need more people like you on the team," he said in amazement. I blushed slightly under the attention, it was nothing, really. "How old are you?" He asked curiously.

"Sixteen," I answered shortly. Most of the time, when people heard my age, they completely disregarded anything I had to say. A person's knowledge shouldn't be measured with their age, but their experiences. And, as most already knew, I had plenty of those- enough for a lifetime.  
"So, what's your name?" He asked me with a lopsided smile.

"Thea," I answered. He grinned at me.

"My name's Branden," he said with a smile, "I'm an assistant here." I nodded in acknowledgment. .

"I'm here with a friend," I said vaguely, looking over a new paper. Without my knowledge, Branden got closer to me.

"You know, you don't meet too many people like you here," he said slyly, the appearance of the 'shy boy', almost melting away, instantly. I gulped, noticing how close he was to me.

"Uh- Well, I-" I was interrupted by the door banging open. Sighing with relief, I saw that it was Ciel and Rockwell. "Ciel!" I cried, in relief. Branden grabbed my upper arm.

"You- You know Ciel Phantomhive?" He whisper-questioned, in disbelief. My brow knitted together.

"Yes..." I answered slowly, wondering where he was going with this.

"But he's a demon!" He exclaimed. My face darkened at that. Shaking my arm loose from him, I went over to Ciel, and threw my arms around him. I let go after a moment.

"I still haven't forgiven you for telling them about me," I said darkly. Ciel smirked at me, knowing that I would- nor could- ever do anything to him. Branden gaped in partial amazement, and horror.

I peeked in the hallway, to see Sadie having a serious discussion with Rockwell. I looked back at Ciel, curiously.

"What is that about?" I asked, nodding my head towards them. Ciel's smirk faded away, and he glanced at me with a cryptic look, that I couldn't recognize.

"You'll see," he answered slyly. I huffed, and glared up at him. He continued smirking at my antics. I rolled my eyes at him, before Rockwell and Sadie filed into the room.

"You," Rockwell barked, talking to Branden, "What's your name?"

"Branden..." He answered nervously. I'd be nervous too, Rockwell had an aura of authority and power around her- I wouldn't want to cross her.

"Branden, you may leave now." Branden took one look around the room, and practically ran out of the laboratory. I smirked at his back, good riddance. Stupid human... As if he could read my thoughts, Ciel nudged me, smirking all the while. I blushed slightly, and turned away, so he couldn't see it.

"Now," Rockwell said, "Sadie came to me with some interesting news." I tensed, ever so slightly. "Apparently, you are a very powerful psychic," she commented. I relaxed, at least it was nothing terribly bad.

"What do you mean?" Ciel inquired. Rockwell turned to him.

"I mean, she is the most powerful psychic that we've ever seen," Rockwell deadpanned. My eyebrows shot up, I was what now? "The closest that we've ever seen, in person, is a gypsy fortune teller who ran a shop in London, who we met a couple of years ago.

Ciel seemed shocked- I don't know whether to be offended by this or not. "But how can that be? Why would I be stronger than other people?" Rockwell sighed, as if going into a long explanation.

"When people die, they are reincarnated into another living being. The more times that you've been incarnated, the stronger that you will be. My guess is that you are the reincarnation of a powerful witch, or something similar to that," Rockwell explained. I furrowed my brow.

"That actually makes sense..." I said slowly, "Sometimes, I have these dreams, but they're not visions, but they seem real. There are many different ones, but the one I really remember was a woman in ancient Greece. I had always thought they were just random dreams..." I snapped out of my reverie by Ciel, who was looking at me with new found wonder.

"But there is something that we would like to try with you," Rockwell stated seriously. I tensed again, an experiment? From what I know, experiments can go very, very wrong.

"What is it?" I asked. Ciel's jaw tightened. He looked like he didn't want me to do it. Rockwell cleared her throat.

"You'll have to be injected with a special solution, that makes you really weak and hazy. It basically lets the visions out easier, and lets us see the extent of your powers," Sadie piped up. Seeing my worried look, she added, "And don't worry, no one has ever been harmed during the procedure." I relaxed slightly.

"Okay," I said, nodding, and giving my assent. Sadie's face brightened.

"Okay, then! Follow me!" She started to lead me away from the lab, and into the hallway. I followed after her.

"Wait," Ciel said, catching my wrist, as I tried to walk away, "You don't have to do this, if you don't want to." I raised an eyebrow, tilting my head to look at him.

"You heard what she said, it'll be fine," I reassured him. _Was he being protective...?_ He scowled, proving my beliefs.

"You can't know that," Ciel insisted. I gave him a look, slipping out of his grasp.

"It'll be fine, don't worry," I said with a soft smile, before following after Sadie. She led me to a different room, devoid of everything, except a large table in the center of the room, and cabinets lining the walls. There was one-way glass on one wall, so Rockwell and Ciel could see in.

"Sit," Sadie ordered, motioning to the table. I obeyed, sitting on the edge, with my legs dangling off the edge. She went through several cabinets with precision, taking out several bottles that I didn't recognize. Despite my bravado to Ciel, I was still nervous. I saw Sadie filling a needle with an unidentifiable, clear liquid.

"I need you to lay down now," Sadie said gently, her nursing side coming out. I obeyed, laying down on the cool metal. I shivered slightly from the cold, that I could feel through my shirt. "I'm going to have to inject his now, okay?" I nodded, looking away. I was never afraid of pain, but it didn't mean I enjoyed it either. A slight pinch signified the entering of the needle into my bloodstream.

_Huh, this isn't so bad..._ Suddenly, a fire erupted inside of me. My blood was replaced with streams of fire, rushing through me- burning. Everything hurt. Unable to get rid of this pain, I started to scream- blood-curdling, and piercing through the air. I was aware of Ciel rushing in the room, trying to help me. I could see his lips moving, but the pain erased any sound that he could have made. He seemed furious, that much I could tell.

Suddenly, the fire turned to ice, and a gravely, unfamiliar voice filled the air:

"**_Night shall rise, with war and blood, on the very darkest day,_**

**_The dark knight will fall, and leave undefended the king._**

**_Light shall be stolen, to be taken far away,_**

**_and to forcibly serve the lord of the demon king."_**

**_Light fights back against the never-ending night,_**

**_realms collide, and balance to preserve or raze._**

**_Order versus Chaos, fighting for the eternal light,_**

**_Hidden magic will appear, light to destroy or save._**"

It took me a moment to realize that the voice was coming from me. I fell limp after reciting it, my head lolling to the side. My body felt like it had been running for hours. I was exhausted; mentally, and physically. Ciel rushed towards me, and took my head in his hands.

"Thea!" He said urgently. I didn't understand, why was he being so loud? My mind was hazy, and I couldn't think straight. My eyes felt heavy. "No, don't go to sleep!" Why not? I was sleepy...

Ciel turned towards Rockwell and Sadie in desperation. "What just happened?" He demanded. Sadie shook her head, her eyes wide. She looked shocked at what happened, while Rockwell merely stood there, looking down at me.

"I- I don't know!" Sadie squeaked, "That's never happened before!" Ciel glared at her. Hey, that wasn't fair! He was just blaming her for something that wasn't her fault.

"Well, Ciel, you should be glad, it looks like Thea is much more powerful than we originally thought," Rockwell said bluntly. Ciel turned the force of his glare onto her, and increased it. If looks could kill, she'd be six feet under the ground.

"That doesn't matter right now! What did you do to her?" He demanded angrily. Sadie flinched at the force of his anger, but Rockwell- like a rock- endured it.

"My, my Ciel, have you come to care for this girl?" Rockwell asked cuttingly, "After all, she'll be in danger while she's around you. This is only the beginning." Ciel's eyes flashed brilliant red, before settling back to their normal sapphire blue. I distantly, felt a flash of nervousness at Ciel's growing anger. I was so exhausted, that I couldn't feel anything much at all.

"That doesn't matter," Ciel seethed, "What is wrong with her?"

"E-Excuse me," Sadie cut in, nervously, "But she's just drained of most of her energy. She'll be fine once she gets enough sleep." Ciel seemed to calm down immensely.

"Are you sure?" Ciel demanded, less forcefully this time.

"Y-Yes, positive," Sade answered fearfully. I didn't quite blame her for being fearful, Ciel's temper was almost limitless. I wouldn't want to bear the brunt of it. Ciel relaxed fully.

"Let's get you home," Ciel murmured, picking me up bride-style. I was too out of it to protest, or even think straight.

I don't know how much time passed, but the next thing I knew, we were at the manor. I don't remember Ciel driving, so I assumed that he used his demonic speed to get us here. He carried me to my bed, and set me down on it. He vanished for a moment, and returned quickly with a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a bandage, for the injection point. He cleaned it, and I winced at the slight burning sensation. I felt sick, my body weak, and not obeying my commands.

I concentrated on moving my hand, while Ciel gently bandaged my upper arm. It still hurt like hell, the pain being one of the only feelings I could feel. I finally managed to clench my fist, by the time Ciel had finished. He took off my jacket, and started to tuck me into bed. By now, I was even more exhausted than I had been before, and my mind was getting hazier so I couldn't think straight..

I grumbled at the uncomfortable feeling of my jeans, when he started tucked me in. Ciel paused, before carefully slipping me out of my jeans, and placing them aside. I was so exhausted, that I didn't even notice, or care. When he finally tucked me in, I curled up in the fetal position, and promptly fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey guys! Hope you liked the chapter! Look, there's actually a plot! Hurray for writing! *Throws cookies forcefully at people*

Anyway, I'm way too tired to read all the way through this chapter, so sorry if it has typos or anything like that. Again, way too tired for that shit. Ain't nobody got time for that!

Reviews:

killerdawgrox: I'm glad that you like it! ;) Hope you liked this chapter!

Esmereilda: Yeah, I had fun writing the great Orange Juice Quest. (BTW, that's how I act on my period) I'm glad that you liked the scene with Claude!

Paxloria: Well, I kind of assumed that she already had one on, since she would know as soon as she peed (Fruit punch bowl). Anyway, I'm glad you liked the orange juice scene! Hope you liked the newest chapter!

Darkshadow400: I think it's hilarious how everyone loved the period part &amp; Sebastian. Girls really do need to rant about these things...

FluffyDarkUnicorn: I know, I do hate being a girl. I got the inspiration for last chapter because I was on it. Boo. I'm glad that you think it's good so far. (And I agree, Sebastian is neglected in this fic) I'll try to work on that, though it is CielXOC centered.

GMWalcorn2713: I'm so glad that you liked it! And don't worry, I'll keep updating! ;)

Please R&amp;R!


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

I slowly drifted awake, feeling all warm and cozy. Stretching, I made baby dinosaur noises. Why do people always make those noises when waking up? We're humans, not a T. rex. After stretching, I made myself get out of bed. Looking down, I froze. Why was I not wearing pants...? My eyes widened, as I remembered last night. He undressed me? While I was practically sleeping?

"Oh, that perv-" I didn't finish my insult, but I fumed at Ciel in my head. I'm _so_ going to kill him. Painfully. "Asshole," I grumbled. I got dressed- into pajamas, this time- and left my room, carrying my iPod, as always. I didn't feel like eating breakfast- I wasn't actually a huge breakfast fan, I usually went without it, anyway. I debated between going, and fuming to Ciel, or finding Alois and spending time with him. I decided on the latter. Mainly because I knew that my conversation with Ciel would be super embarrassing.

Making my way to the main room, I found Alois sprawled on the sectional, playing Mario Cart. I have legitimately never seen him outside this room. I was beginning to think that he never left. Did he even have a bedroom?

"Yo," I greeted, picking up another controller.

"Hi-ya," Alois answered back, his eyes never leaving the game. He was always very focused when he played games. "Damn it!" He shouted, as he fell off the edge and died. I smirked at him, and then changed the settings to two players so I could play with him. We picked avatars, and I picked Baby Peach- as I always did. I don't know why, but for as long as I can remember, I've always been Baby Peach. It's kind of weird, now that I think about it...

"So, what have you been doing?" I asked him, as the game started. I was winning so far, because I got one of those weird, red mushroom things.

"Playing this, and watching Netflix," Alois answered casually, "I found a wonderful show called Psych." I grinned at him; Psych rocked, and was extremely hilarious. _Just 'cause you put syrup on something don't make it pancakes!_

"Gah- No!" I shouted at the screen, when my character was hit with a bomb- courtesy of Alois. "I hate you!" Alois just smirked in response. _Oh, I see how it is..._ Smirking to myself, I rammed Alois off the bridge. I glanced at him, his face portrayed pure shock.

"Oh, you," he growled. I smirked at him, before speeding up and passing him. When I reached the cavern filled with the bouncy mushrooms, I accidentally bounced wrong and fell into the dark chasm.

"No!" I shouted, desperately moving my controller, trying to escape. Alois cackled, before passing me. Once the creepy, flying cloud brought me back, I growled. "I hate you!" As you can see, video games were very high stress for me. I was very competitive, and didn't like to lose. (However, it should be noted that the only video game I've ever played is Mario Kart.) As it turned out, however, I never recovered from falling into the chasm, and lost the game. Chucking my controller at the wall I yelled at him. "Screw you!"

Alois laughed at me, and I hit him. Hard. Unfortunately, it didn't affect him since he was a demon. He just smirked at me, and laughed. I scowled at him, before crossing my arms in front of my chest, leaning back, and pouting. Alois continued looking at me with a smirk on his face, before patting my head, like a dog. I hissed at him, like a cat, but he just gave a shit-eating grin in response. "I hate you," I grumbled.

"No, you don't," Alois said, with a smile. I pouted even more at that- he was right.

"Hmph, fine!" I exclaimed, dramatically putting my hand to my forehead. Alois smirked, before sprawling over the sectional; one of his legs, over the arm. I did the same; something about the sectional, just made you want to be cozy.

"So, why didn't you come with us to SHR?" I asked Alois, curiously. He was trying to take down Claude too, shouldn't he have gone?

"Ciel decided that it probably wasn't the best idea..." Alois answered.

"So, basically Ciel just wanted to piss Rockwell off," I deadpanned. Oh that asshole...

"Yeah..." Alois responded, dragging the word out. I face palmed. Ciel was an idiot. But didn't I already know that? Shaking my head at Ciel, I turned my body to face Alois better.

"_Ciel_," I grumbled in exasperation. Alois turned his head lazily to face me.

"So," he said lazily, smirking, "What's the deal with you and Ciel?" My eyes widened, and I squeaked.

"Nothing!" I said quickly, almost too quickly. Alois definitely seemed to think so.

"Oh, really?" Alois asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes, really!" I exclaimed. I turned my head away, as if hoping that would end the conversation. It didn't. Alois continued looking at me, with a 'really?' expression on his face. I sighed to myself. "Does it really look like that?" I asked, almost pleading. Alois nodded. I sighed again. "Crap."

"But really, you guys are cute together," Alois said bluntly, "And also, if there's nothing going on, why is Ciel's scent usually all over you?" He asked slyly. At that, I blushed as red as a tomato, and tried to get up to storm away. Before I could, Alois took hold of my wrist, so I couldn't leave. I blushed even harder when Alois looked at me, with the most serious expression I had ever seen on his face.

"Let go! I'm not having this conversation with you!" I exclaimed, trying to break free. _Yeah, that was _totally_ going to work. _Curse demon strength.

"Listen, what I said is true. And I think Ciel feels the same," Alois said. Still blushing, I hesitated at that. However, I wasn't going to ask how he knew this, that was _way _too embarrassing. "Sometimes, when you're not looking, he looks at you with this special expression, I can't explain it."

"Let go of me, or I will stab you with a spoon," I growled, trying to appear threatening. It didn't work, because I was still as red as a cherry tomato. I usually don't blush easily- though that has been changing as of late- but this was the hardest I've ever blushed. Alois smirked, but eventually obeyed me, by letting go of my wrist.

"You're a very violent person," Alois commented.

"Psychopath," I answered, walking out the door. That was my new favorite response when people said I was 'too violent'. No such thing, some people deserved to be violent towards.

By now, I was way too embarrassed to be around people, so I made my way to my room to finish my book that I'd been writing. I was almost done with it. I just needed to do some more editing, add a couple scenes, and then send it off to the publishers. I smirked to myself, remembering how much Ciel liked my books. When I wrote, I wrote under the pen name 'Vivian Moore', and those just happened to be some of Ciel's favorite books. Oh, I can't wait to see his face when he realizes it. You know, for an insanely smart, slightly evil, supernatural being- Ciel was surprisingly stupid. Meh, he _was_ after all male- so he had an excuse.

Reaching my room, I plopped myself down on my extremely comfortable bed, and started to type on my laptop. My bed was my favorite place in the entire manor, mainly because I was lazy and liked to lay down. I was the laziest person I knew. Actually, I'm pretty sure the only reason why I actually moved was because I needed food or wanted to annoy Ciel. Both are equally enjoyable.

As during most of my writing sessions, I got distracted by the internet, and start surfing the web, or as I like to call it, 'falling down the rabbit hole'. It was an apt description. Pinterest was my downfall... I wish I could quit it, but at the same time, I'm glad that I can't. Pinterest is life; I honestly don't understand how people survive without it.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed- especially since time seemed to pass differently while I was writing- but when I looked at the clock it was three in the afternoon. So, about six hours had passed. I didn't even get distracted by the interwebs! _Much, at least. _Not bad, I was practically finished with my book; I just need to edit it a little- but I'm too lazy for that shit right now.

"Go Thea!" I yelled, double fisting the air. I felt exhilarated from all the writing. Shutting my laptop closed, I stretched my cramped muscles, from sitting in one position for too long. _That was the story of my life... _Looking around my room, I noticed all the clutter around my room. I've been so busy doing practically _everything else_, that I didn't find time to clean my room. I sighed. I was by no means a clean freak, but I liked my room to be at least semi-orderly. I didn't like huge amounts of clutter, around places where I spent most of my time.

Getting up, and starting to clean up, I turned my iPod on shuffle. I hated cleaning when there was no music- what was the point! If you could turn a chore into a dance party, why wouldn't you? Besides, I like singing and dancing (badly). Even when I had both my legs, I was awful at dancing. Now, me trying to dance was a catastrophe to do and see.

I made quick work of the mess, which wasn't that big, to be honest. It was mainly just clothes littering the ground, and my unmade bed. But after I finished making my bed, one of my all time favorite songs came on. Angle of Darkness, the Nightcore version. Hell yeah. Smirking to myself, I started singing along energetically.

"_Angel of darkness  
Angel of darkness  
The world is in your hand,  
But I will fight until the end.  
Angel of darkness  
Angel of darkness  
Don't follow your command,  
But I will fight and I will stand._"

"_When darkness falls,_" my voice lowered._  
"Pain is all,  
The Angel of Darkness  
will leave behind,  
and I will fight._"

"_The love is lost,  
beauty and light,  
have vanished from  
garden of delight.  
The dreams are gone,  
midnight has come,  
the darkness is our new kingdom. Yeah-eah..._"

My voice rose on the last note. I felt exhilarated, as I always did, whenever I sang this song. It was just so much fun to sing! I was dancing horribly along to my singing- as if trying to balance out my abilities. Curse my awful coordination.

"_Angel of darkness  
Angel of darkness  
The world is in your hand,  
But I will fight until the end.  
Angel of darkness  
Angel of darkness  
Don't follow your command,  
But I will fight and I will stand._"

"_Hunt goes on,  
deep in the night,  
time to pray,  
down on your knees,  
you can't hide from the  
eternal light,  
until my last  
breath I will fight, I will fight..._"

"_Now realize, the stars they die,  
darkness has fallen in paradise.  
but we'll be strong, and we will fight,  
against the creatures of the night._"

"_Angel of darkness  
Angel of darkness  
The world is in your hand,  
But I will fight until the end.  
Angel of darkness  
Angel of darkness  
Don't follow your command,  
But I will fight and I will stand._"

When I finished the song, I fell onto my bed, laughing to myself, and smiling. I kept smiling too... until I noticed Ciel standing in the corner of my room.

"Shit, Ciel!" I yelled, falling off of my bed, face down into the carpet. I couldn't see his face, but I knew he was smirking. My prediction was proved correct when he walked over in front of me. He held out his hand for me to take to help me up. I growled, but accepted it- mainly because I would have had a very difficult time getting up with only one leg.

After standing up and brushing my pants off- I crossed my arms in front of my chest. "Get out of my room," I ordered sternly. I still hadn't forgiven him for last night. Then again... he did kind of take care of me and everything... But still. Ciel arched an eyebrow at me.

"You seem to forget that _you_ cannot order me around," Ciel commented slyly, taking a step forward and invading my personal space. My eyes widened, and I gulped. Oops. Maybe it's not _such_ a good idea to taunt the demon. I stood stock still; I knew that Ciel wouldn't hurt me- probably- but there were still things that he could do... Namely, embarrass and taunt me. Those seemed to be his two favorites.

He leaned down, seemingly enjoying my reaction to him. While I did feel a spike of fear shoot through me, I also felt slightly warm since he was _this_ close to me. I was very close to blushing again. Gah! Why does he have this effect on me! I am _not_ some sappy girl in a romance novel- I didn't even read those horrid things, no matter how bored I was. (Fanfiction does not count). This was stupid- and it didn't even make sense! Why am I attracted to him? _Oh God... I admitted. Damn it!_ My thought process derailed as Ciel straightened up before taking another step forward, so he and I were practically touching.

"So, when did you start listening to such _interesting_ music?" Ciel inquired, smirking at me. I scowled at him, my cheeks stained with a light blush.

"I hate you," I growled, plopping down on my bed with my legs crossed.

"No, you don't," Ciel retorted. I crossed my arms in front of my chest.

"Tch," I said, looking away. We sat there in silence for a moment. Every few seconds, I would glance over at him. He looked especially good tonight and I don't even know why. _Not that I would ever admit it..._ About the seventh time I looked at him, he caught me, and smirked. A blush staining my cheeks I looked away, embarrassed. Ciel chuckled at me.

"You're adorable," Ciel commented, smirking. I looked up in a mixture of shock and indignation.

"I'm not adorable!" I exclaimed, uncrossing my arms to put them at my sides.

"But you're so cute when you get embarrassed," Ciel said slyly. I looked at him with a slightly shocked expression. "You do realize that I heard your conversation with Alois this morning," Ciel said, after a moment's silence. _Oh shit._ I don't know if I said that out loud or not, but by the smirk on Ciel's face, I'm guessing that I did. "He's right you know," Ciel said. I froze. What now? Did he just say what I think he said? Apparently he did.

"What do you mean?" I asked nervously, my eyes wide. Ciel smirked before leaning down and covering my lips with his.

I froze for a second before I unconsciously responded, my lips moving against his. I had never thought that kissing was a big deal, but this didn't even seem like kissing. It was like... Finding your other half, when you didn't even know you were missing it. It felt whole, complete. I couldn't feel anything except for Ciel, nothing else mattered at the moment.

My eyes were half-lidded, and my gaze was hazy. Ciel was fast, before I knew what was happening, something licked at my bottom lip. Startled, I opened my mouth. He took the chance, and slid into my mouth. Now, I had always thought that french kissing was absolutely disgusting, but this was anything but. This was electric.

I pushed him away after a moment, panting. My hands had somehow intertwined themselves with his hair, but Ciel didn't seem to mind. He grinned wolfishly at me.

"What," I started, still panting, my chest heaving, "Was that?" Ciel kissed me again, albeit less passionately.

"You know what that was for," he answered, looking me straight in the eyes. I was absolutely confused, what did any of this mean? But I couldn't seem to make myself care as Ciel slid me under the covers. As he turned to leave, I grabbed the end of his jacket.

"Will you sleep with me tonight?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that moving a bit fast?" He asked, smirking. I flushed at him angrily.

"You know what I mean!" I snapped. Ciel smiled at me and took off his jacket and his shoes, before sliding into bed next to me. I immediately cuddled up to him and he wrapped his arms around me. As soon as I laid down, he started running his fingers through my hair.

"Thank you," I mumbled into his chest.

"For what?" Ciel asked, surprised.

"For helping me yesterday," I said. I still hadn't thanked him for taking care of me and everything... even if he did undress me without my knowledge. _That sounds really wrong..._

Ciel smiled, a real smile this time. "You're welcome," he said.

"Oh, and Ciel?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Yes?" He answered.

"I- I don't know what this is yet- but if you undress me without my knowledge again, I will hurt you," I said innocently. Ciel smirked at me.

"Deal," he answered.

"Hmm... Goodnight, Ciel," I said sleepily, him playing with my hair having an effect on me. I could sense his smile from above me.

"Goodnight, Thea."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yay! THEY KISSED! (And about damn time, too!) Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter, and it was okay. For the kissing scene, I give credit to IndigoBlueButterfly and her fic. *bows down* I suck at writing romance &amp; kissing scenes, so I used her fic as inspiration. It may be similar, but I needed help. And I would like to take a moment to thank her for being an amazing writer!

Anyhow, I hope this scene didn't come too fast, and didn't seem unnatural or anything. My brain said it was time, so I did it! I hope it wasn't too bad...

Reviews:

MagentaPeace: I hoped this chapter lived up to your expectations! (Thea thanks you for your concern) And I can't wait until I can kill off Claude too! (He's the bane of my existance)

killerdawgrox: Fine, *Gives Sebastian*. Don't kill him, Ciel needs him. And I agree, Thea should _probably_ start hanging around Ciel more. (Well, I bet she will now) *wink, wink*

SebastiansWifey: I'm so glad that you like it! It's always good to know that people like this fic! *Gives Sebastian*

Paxloria: Yeah... it wasn't much of a test, but it fit the chapter. And there will be shit going down soon! ;) I can't tell you about the third thing, have to wait and see! (Muhahaha) Branden was a bit of an asshole (and not the good kind). I thought his reaction to Ciel was hilarious! I hope you liked the chapter!

Esmereilda: I can't tell you which witch Thea is (hahahah, I made a pun). I know, I really love greek mythology too! (Any mythology really). I always think it's so cute when Ciel is worried about Thea! Hope you liked the chapter!

darkshadow400: I'm glad you liked it! I feel bad for Thea too, and you'll see more of Thea's power coming up, don't worry. Hope you liked the chapter!

Please R&amp;R!


	17. Chapter 17

**Warning: May suck, I wrote the majority of this at 2 am, and I was too lazy to read through all of it. So, sorry in advance.**

Chapter 17

I slowly awoke from a dreamless sleep, Turning my head away from the sunlight streaming in the windows, I buried my face in my pillow. I frowned to myself. _My pillow isn't very comfortable..._ Wait a minute, I looked up. Ciel was looking down at me with a small smile on his face, petting my hair. I blinked once. Twice. Then my memories of the previous night hit me, and I flushed, burying my head back in Ciel's chest.

I heard Ciel chuckle above me, and I groaned. "Why do you hate me?" I begged, still not looking up at him. Ciel chuckled, his hand tracing patterns onto my side.

"I don't, I believe I made that very clear yesterday," Ciel answered wryly. I blushed slightly. He did not just say that! My expression softened after a moment, and then I tried to get up. Key word there, being 'tried'. Before I could fully get up, Ciel caught my wrist, and pulled me towards him. I forcibly rolled over, and landed on him. I flushed at our... ahem, provocative position. Basically... I was straddling his hips. My eyes widened, and I froze. I still wasn't entirely comfortable with this... Actually, I don't even know what this is. I had never been with anyone like this- I haven't been kissed, and I sure haven't had anything even _resembling_ a boyfriend. I even refused to name the feeling in my chest, for fear of what it might me.

Ciel smirked up at me and I flushed even harder. Why does he do this to me? _I should be scared by this..._ _He's not human. _Why wasn't I scared?

"Let me up," I growled, once again failing from the color of my face. Ciel refused, and instead pulled me closer, before reaching up to cover my lips with his. When he finally- or maybe too soon- leaned back down on the bed, I was scarlet red, but I had a small smile on my lips, and an indescribable feeling in my chest. I felt a slight sense of loss, but I got up fully from the bed anyway. Once I straightened myself out, I pointed an accusing finger at him.

"You cannot just do that!" I exclaimed, putting my hands on my hips. Ciel smirked at me, before getting up to face me.

"Yes I can," Ciel said, before swooping in, and kissing me senseless again. After I regained at least some of my senses, I beat upon his shoulders with my fists. Again, didn't really work, but it made me feel better, so I did it. When he finally did release me, I was panting again. I glared at him, putting my hands on his shoulders to distance him, and steady myself.

"I hate you," I growled, still panting slightly. Ciel grinned at me.

"No you don't," he retorted with a smirk. I sighed at him, before letting go of his shoulders.

"I know," I sighed. _I should though..._ Turning around, I made my way to the bathroom, before locking me in. After I closed the door, I leaned on it, sighing. What just happened? And... _I think I'm in love with a demon..._ Well isn't this fantastic. I should run, I should shout until someone hears, but now. I just _had _to fall in love. This is stupid. But I swear to God, I will _not_ act like stupid Bella Swan from Twilight. Hell no. I am _not_ going to be some stupid romance novel character; I refuse.

Getting up, I got ready and by the time that I entered my bedroom, Ciel was already gone. I opened up my closet. _Get dressed... or pajamas? _This was a very difficult question. One of the most important questions of my existence. Ultimately, I decided to get dressed in real clothes, because why not? Getting dressed in an Avengers t-shirt and jeans, I grabbed my iPod. I didn't want to see Ciel since I had already- ahem- _seen_ him, so I made my way to the main room. AKA, Alois's room.

As I had predicted, Alois was watching Netflix, sprawled out on the sofa. I rolled my eyes at the sight. I take it back, Alois was the laziest person on Earth, not me. Though, I was a close second.

"Bello!" I greeted, in minion-ese. I love the minions, and I frequently went around the house, talking like them. It was fun to see Ciel's confused face whenever I did that... Good times, good times.

"Hi-ya," Alois answered back, not turning his head to look at me. I raised an eyebrow at the screen.

"Still watching Psych?" I asked incredulously. He was on the last season, he must have been watching it 24/7 for him to have gotten that far.

"Yep," Alois said, popping the 'p'. I sat down next to him, and as I did so, his head turned to look at me. After a moment, his eyes widened, and he smirked.

"Oh," he said teasingly, "So did you two finally-" I cut him off.

"Shut up!" Alois merely smirked at me, before turning his attention back to the screen.

"You know, I made a bet with Sebastian on how long it would take you two to realize it," Alois said with a smirk. I flushed slightly. Oh my God, we have shippers?! This was getting out of hand.

"I hate all of you," I growled, crossing my arms in front of my chest, defensively.

"That's alright," Alois said, draping an arm over my shoulders, "We hate you too!" I looked at him darkly, through narrowed eyes.

"Thanks..." I said sarcastically, but then grinned at him. Alois grinned back, giving a closed eye smile, and we continued watching Psych for a while. After the third episode ended, I sprang to my feet. I stared Alois dead in the eye.

"I challenge thee to a duel of the table of the ping-pong!" I announced, putting my hands on my hips, and drawing me up to my full height. Alois smirked back at me. When I had been exploring the other day, I had found a hardly used ping-pong table. Now, I may be really weak, but I'm fabulous at ping-pong. I am the master commander! Alois stood up, before bowing graciously.

"I accept," he answered, grinning me at devilishly. I responded in kind, raising an eyebrow.

Alois and I were soon by the ping-pong table, that was now in the main room. Thank you, for demon friends. Best. Thing. Ever. We were now standing on opposing ends of the ping-pong table, and Ciel was sitting on the sectional. He had wandered in when Alois and I were bickering over where to put the table. He sorted it out, as he always does. Alois and I fought like siblings, and Ciel always seemed to put an end to it.

"And... Start!" Alois slammed the ball on the table, and I hit it back. It kept going back and forth, until I missed, and Alois smirked. I scowled at him, before bouncing the ball and starting again. And this time, I won. Alois scowled at me, and I gave a gloating face towards Alois. He looked at me darkly, before starting again.

This went back and forth, sometimes Alois winning, sometimes me. Near the end, we were tied, the next person to score would win. Now, Alois and I were both very competitive. We hated to lose, and we would do anything to win. My eyes were narrowed at the table, and I didn't have to look up to know that Alois's were too. The ball slammed back and forth, though Alois was faster than I was.

It was about to get past me! _No!_ I reached for it, but I was too late. But somehow, without me touching it, it whipped back to Alois's side, scoring. My eyes widened, and my mouth was gaping, as I stared at my paddle. Alois and Ciel were both looking at me with wide eyes. I gulped as I looked at them. _Did I do that?_

"Did you do that?" I asked Ciel. He shook his head, a cryptic look on his face. I glanced back between Alois and Ciel, not sure where to look. Suddenly, a realization shot through me.

"Wait!" I exclaimed," I didn't do that!" I said, shaking my head, with a frightened look in my eye. I gulped, and felt the beginnings of panic. I have never done anything like that before! I mean, sure, I could sometimes see into the future, but I didn't have the force! My hands were shaking, and I started backing away from them, towards the door.

"Thea," Ciel started, taking a step towards me. Without waiting, I bolted from the room, my head in my hands. I didn't stop, I didn't even know if he was following me or not. I didn't care. This was all too reminiscent of when I first got my psychic powers. Even my parents were scared of me, then. I was half way to my room, before Ciel appeared in front of me.

"Thea," Ciel said sternly, gripping my upper arms, and holding me against the wall.

"Let go of me!" I shouted fearfully. My mind was addled with fear, and I couldn't think straight. I stood there against the wall, shaking.

"Thea!" Ciel said loudly, gripping my arms tighter, "It's all right!" What did he mean, 'it's all right'? No, it is not all right! I voiced this concern aloud to Ciel.

"I just found out that I have magical powers! Excuse me for over-reacting!" I said furiously, regaining control over myself. Ciel rolled his eyes at me.

"You are a psychic, a reincarnation of a witch, did you really not expect to have any other 'quirks'?" Ciel deadpanned. The last of my anger and fear disappeared.

"No," I said quietly, looking down ashamedly. I may have over-reacted a bit, just a bit. Ciel smirked at me.

"Good, now calm down," Ciel ordered. I shrunk slightly under his one-eyed stare.

"But why was I able to do that?" I asked, looking up at him helplessly. He sighed.

"You were only able to do that, because your emotions were running high at the moment- in case you hadn't noticed, you're very competitive." I blushed slightly, and shrunk; he was right. "You probably could only do that _because _of that, if you tried now, you wouldn't be able to do it." I stayed silent for a moment, processing the information. He was right.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly, back to myself. I gave a small smile.

"Do you want to be by yourself now?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow. I stared at him with a playful look in my eye.

"I am not a child!" I exclaimed, making him release me.

"Hmm," Ciel pretended to think on it for a moment, "Yes, yes you are." I flushed slightly with anger.

"No. I. Am. Not!" I said, dividing every word.

"You are sixteen years old," Ciel said smirking. I glared at him.

"Bitch, I am almost seventeen years old, and life is measured with experiences, not years!" I exclaimed. Ciel ignored the second part of my statement, only paying attention to the first.

"When is your birthday?" Ciel asked. I shut my mouth, not willing to say.

"Nope," I said, popping the 'p', "Not telling." Ciel raised an eyebrow in challenge.

"You do realize that I can just look at your file, and easily find out when it is?" Ciel said, smirking. I scowled at him. Damn him. _Wait... _I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"It's on Halloween," I grumbled. Ciel's eyes widened, in what appeared to be shock. "What? What's wrong?" I asked urgently. He was looking at me like he had never seen me before. He stood stock still, with a blank expression on his face.

"Halloween..." He mumbled under his breath, before starting to walk away unsteadily, towards his study.

"Ciel Phantomhive!" I shouted. He didn't respond. I growled at him under my breath. "Oh, you..." I didn't finish my sentence, before sprinting after him. I grabbed his shoulder. "Ciel what is it?" He didn't answer, but instead shook off my hand. Before I could try again, his study door slammed in my face, and I heard the locking of the knob.

"Oh that little..." I didn't finish my curse, but instead made my way to the library. I needed to do some research. As I entered the library, I brushed the incident with Ciel to the back of my mind. Cracking my neck, I got down to business. There was something that I needed to find out.

After the end of three hours, I was sitting on the floor, surrounded by books. Since we had gone to SHR, and they had done that test, I was wondering who I was reincarnated. I knew by my dreams, that I was someone from Greece. I hadn't particularly liked the thought, since most witches in Greek mythology were evil, but I had persevered.

I was looking at three witches, who all looked like good candidates. After careful consideration, I put Hecate aside- it just didn't feel right. I know they said I had been powerful, but I don't think I had been that powerful. Looking at the pictures of Hecate made me uneasy. Putting aside that book for now, I looked at the others; Medea, and Circe. With both of them, I had a particular feeling in my stomach, that I couldn't quite name. They both seemed familiar, but I didn't know which one. Haha, which witch, I made a funny. Wow, I was so stupid...

Turning my attention back to the subject at hand, I reread the description of each one. While reading about Medea, I noticed something that I hadn't before.

"**Medea was a powerful witch in Greek Mythology, one who's power of clairvoyance and prophecy were well known..."**

I didn't bother to read the rest. _Clairvoyance and prophecy... _ That sounded awfully familiar. I flipped to the page with her picture on it. My eyes widened in recognition. It was the face that I looked at every morning. It was me. _No, _I thought after a second, _close, but not me._ It was, indeed, very similar to me, there were only minor differences. Her nose was slightly longer, and her hair a bit curlier, but that was really it. If I had been wearing a toga, you would be hard pressed to tell which was which.

I slammed the book shut, I had found what I wanted to find. _Hmm... So I was a priestess of Hecate... Interesting._ Somehow, it felt very familiar, like I had already known it. Well, I guess in one way, I had.

I made my way to back to my room, glancing at Ciel's study door as I did so. It was still closed, and I couldn't hear anything from inside. I wonder what he was doing... Not stopping, I entered my room. Sighing, I leaned up against the door. I was exhausted, mentally and physically. For one, a demon apparently loved me- thought, I wasn't sure on that one- and it was confusing in the extreme. Two, said demon got agitated when he learned my birthday was on Halloween- which reasons, I can only guess. Three, I learned that I was the reincarnation of the_ slightly _evil sorceress, Medea, and I apparently had the force. A very normal day in the Phantomhive household.

Rubbing my temples, I put myself to bed, and resigned myself to a restless night's sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow. I don't even know what happened. I apologize for any suckiness. I'm really sorry if this wasn't that good (particularly near the end!), I just can't find the energy to read through it right now. (Also sorry for any typos!) But most of this stuff is necessary for the story, so I can't really cut it. But mostly it's because I'm lazy. Anyway, I'm so happy to know that you guys liked the last chapter! You can't imagine how happy all those reviews made me!

REVIEWS:

billie100997: I'm so glad that you like it! I really liked the scene where she fell off the bed too! (It sounds like something I would do, ;)) It was really fun righting the kiss.

DeathWillNotPrevail: Hahaha! Omg, Claude is the ex! That actually makes sense... Anyway, I'm glad that you liked the kiss, and I can't answer your last question... Shhh... Don't tell the others...

Fluffyskyloxables (AKA Guest): Here! *Throws update at you* And no, I didn't name Orion after Siruis, I didn't even know his middle name...

darkshadow400: I'm so glad that you liked the kiss. And, I tried to hint at Thea being the author, I'm glad that you got it!

Foreveradreamerinlife: I'm sorry, I don't think I'm going to have someone for Sebastian in this fic. But I'm thinking about starting another...

IndigoBlueButterfly: I'm so glad that you liked it! Yay, happy! *Accepts hug* I'm glad that you liked it, and I suck at writing kisses, so you were a life saver! I'm glad that you like Thea!

Paxloria: I'm glad that you liked the chapter, I really love that song. I know, it is bit high (Or maybe more than a bit), but I like it nevertheless.

MagentaPeace: That was actually my reaction while writing... I'm so glad that you liked the kissing scene! Yay!

Esmereilda: Actually, stabbing someone with a spoon is very threatening. Since it's dull, and not sharp at all, it hurts more~~~ (And before you ask, no I am not a psychopath.) I'm glad that you like Ciel and Thea are cute together!

killerdawgrox: I'm glad that the kissing scene didn't come too fast! I was worried about that... And no, they are not going to do that (Or if they do, I ain't writing it!)

TheDragonThatReadLeviathan: I know, it's amazing! One of my all time favorite fics, actually! I'm glad that you think this is almost on the same level! ;)

sakemori: You were literally the only person who spotted that... Well done... Gah! *Throws update at you* Take it! Take it!

GMWalcorn2713: I'm so glad that you liked it! (And fangirled over it!) I'm glad that you think I'm a good writer. And no, I'm not planning on doing an Undertaker/Grell scenes...

Please R&amp;R!


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

I blinked my eyes wearily. Why was I still so tired? Opening my eyes fully, I froze in shock. This wasn't my room... I didn't even know where this was. The walls were a very dark shade of blue, that almost looked black. I was lying on a dark purple settee, stretched out. I blinked my eyes again, and my hackles immediately went up. Something wasn't right.

I looked around the room, only to see Claude was sitting in a chair across from me. Jumping up from my position, I start yelling.

"Where am I? This isn't real- it can't be!" I was interrupted in my rant by Claude standing up, smirking creepily. I immediately shut up, tensing. He made me nervous in every sense of the word. You just knew he was worse than evil. I froze, my eyes wide, staring at him. He smirked at me, before leaning down to look at me.

"Oh, my dear, this is very _real_," Claude answered, taking my chin in his hand. I hesitated for a moment, my thoughts stuttering.

"B-But I can't be, I'm dreaming!" I said forcefully, as if trying to convince myself. This all just seemed like a dream, I couldn't quite describe it, but that's what it felt like.

"I never said you weren't dreaming," Claude said casually, straightening back up, his eyes never leaving mine.

"B-But you said i-it was real," I said, stuttering. Claude waved his hand dismissively.

"Oh humans, thinking if it's a dream it's not real, how pathetic," he said. "I expected more from you, Thea." I shuddered at the way he said my name, the way it curled off his tongue. His eyes gleamed with something that struck fear into my very core.

"Besides, I'll be seeing you soon enough, and for real this time, my dear," Claude purred. I may live with demons, but they seemed human most of the time. Claude was the personification of darkness, and not the darkness of the night. He was the darkness at the bottom of well, or at the end of a cave, the shadow lurking under your bed. He moved towards me again, lifting his hand to meet my face.

"Get away from me," I snapped, hitting his hand away from me. He raised an eyebrow, and I gulped. That probably wasn't a smart idea. My point was proven by Claude taking hold of my throat, and lifting me into the air. My feet were dangling below me, and I grasped his hand, trying not to suffocate.

"You seem to be under the impression that I obey you, my dear," Claude said, a gleam in his eyes, "When in fact, it is the opposite." He let me down slightly- as I was gasping, my face turning pink- and leaned down close to me. I could feel his breath on my neck, and I shuddered, but I didn't do anything. I was afraid of him. I was ashamed to admit it, but I was. I had never been terrified of anything in my life- not even Akarian. Claude terrified me.

He chuckled softly as he set me down on the ground, and removed his hand so I could breathe again. I gasped for breath, clutching at my throat. I didn't have to look up to know that he was smirking at me. I lifted up my head to glare at him, but quickly looked down again at the look he gave me. I hated myself for being so scared of him... but the other part of my brain- the rational part- told me that it was right. That I should be scared of him.

"Why did you bring me here?" I growled, my voice hoarse. I was still bent over slightly, clutching my throat.

"Ah yes," he said smirking, as if struck with a realization, "I meant to give you this." I straightened up, and tensed, as if ready to run. Not that it would do any good. As if reading my thoughts, he grasped my wrists tightly, so I couldn't run away if I tried. Smirking, he leaned forward, until he suddenly bit into the spot where my shoulder and my neck connected. I immediately screamed out in agony; the pain was unbearable.

Imagine all the pain that you've felt in your entire life; a thumb prick, a paper cut, a sprained ankle. Now put them all together. You are now experiencing all the paint that you've ever felt in your existence, now multiply it by ten. And spray your body with salt water. Now you have an accurate representation of how much pain I was in. It was as if my blood had turned to fire, and was burning me from the inside out. I could feel Claude smirk against me, as he bit into me.

"Mine," he murmured.

I woke up in my bed, screaming as if there was no tomorrow. Tears streamed down my face, and sobs wracked my body. In a flash, Ciel was next to my bed. As soon as I saw him, I threw myself at him. He was caught off guard at first, but he wrapped his arms around me. He sat down on my bed, and slid me onto his lap, where I curled up in the fetal position.

"Thea, what is it?" Ciel asked.

"I-It was Claude!" I stuttered. It was hard to speak, because sobs were wracking my body. I didn't even know why I was crying, not really. There was no reason I should. Ciel held me out by my shoulders, and turned me so I was facing him.

"Hey, it's alright. Calm down," he ordered, though not harshly. My sobs quieted at that, and I soon found myself able to breath again. "Now tell me what happened," he ordered calmly, once I had calmed down immensely. I took a shuddering breath.

"I-I had a dream, except it wasn't a dream-" I started.

"A vision?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, not this time." My voice grew stronger as I spoke, "I was in this manor... and Claude was there. He- he," I couldn't make myself go on, "He bit me, and said something about 'mine'... What does that mean?" My voice reverted back to a child-like tone. Ciel looked at me with a cryptic look on his face, as if he was purposefully hiding his emotions.

Ciel brushed the hair away from my shoulder, and his jaw tightened with a familiar emotion, that I recognized as anger. His eyes flashed red, and I flinched slightly, reminded of my 'dream'.

"Ciel?" I asked cautiously. His arm trembled at his side in anger, before grabbing me harshly to inspect it closer. I froze, but relaxed- it was just Ciel. "Ciel?" I asked, my voice shaking. I was in a fragile state of mind, and Ciel not answering me was making that worse.

He growled slightly, as he inspected my neck. It was a low, inhuman sound, and I froze in sudden fright. I knew that Ciel would never do anything purposefully to hurt me, but I was scared and frightened. I tried to move away, but his grip stopped me from doing anything.

"Is there something on my neck?" I asked cautiously. Ciel was fixated on the particular spot, and too long for him to merely have been glancing at it.

"Yes," Ciel said shortly, as if incapable of a longer answer. His voice shook, with what, I don't know.

"What is it?" I demanded, my fear fading away slightly. I was still terrified of finding out what it was, what had Claude done?

"It's a web," he answered shortly. My eyes widened, what did he mean? I asked him so, and he grimly handed me a pocket mirror from my bedside table. Opening it, I looked at the mark. My eyes widened. He was right.

On the spot that Claude had bitten me, was a medium sized, purple spider web. I looked at Ciel, who merely looked at me with a grim expression.

"What is it? What did he do?" I asked, horrified. I half wanted to know, but half definitely didn't want to.

"He marked you," Ciel answered distantly, twirling my hair around his finger. He had a strange look in his eye, as if plotting something. His grip on my hair tightened for a moment; but I was too caught up with what he said to notice.

"What does that mean?" I asked fearfully. I could feel tears pricking my eyes once again. Stop it! I didn't want to cry, and I didn't need to.

"He didn't succeed," Ciel reassured, "He couldn't mark you, since it was a dream. However, if he marks you in real life..." I relaxed a little, I at least had that.

"What happens if he does that?" I asked warily. I was so done with this shit...

"He's basically claiming you as his. He would own you," Ciel explained. His jaw tightened, as if he didn't like this subject. Well, to be honest, neither did I. My eyes widened. I had finally regained control over my body, but I couldn't quite control the panic I felt at that. I would rather die a very painful death, than belong to Claude. No, just no.

"What would that mean?" I asked. Ciel merely raised an eyebrow, giving me a cryptic look. I gulped, maybe I _didn't_ want to know... My mind immediately filled with all the thoughts of what 'that' could mean. "Oh, hell no." Ciel looked at me with a grim look in eye. "No, no, no, no, and no. Is there anyway to prevent it?" Ciel gave me another look.

"What? Oh wait... Nope! Not doing that!" I exclaimed, blushing under his gaze. I do not want to be 'marked' by anyone! And plus, that's just awkward! I looked to the side, trying to hide. I jumped up to my feet, but Ciel followed me. My fear was now completely gone, only to be replaced by complete embarrassment. Ciel grabbed my forearm, pulling me towards him.

"Where do you think you're going?" He purred, smirking at me. I gulped, and flushed even harder, until I resembled a tomato.

"Let go of me! I will kill you!" I threatened. Ciel arched an eyebrow.

"Are death threats your love language?" He asked dryly.

"Yes!" Ciel smirked at my response, before leaning down to kiss me. I made a shocked sound in the back of my throat. I started to beat on his back with my fists- not affecting him what-so-ever. When he finally pulled away, I was flushed redder than I've ever in my entire life. "Don't do that!" I exclaimed.

"Why not?" Ciel inquired devilishly. Well, I suppose he is, actually. Why do I keep forgetting this? Or maybe I just didn't care. I crossed my arms in front of me.

"Because, you can't!" I whisper-yelled. Ciel smirked again, and my eyes widened. He was going to take that as a challenge isn't he?

"Oh, is that so?" Ciel inquired. Yes, he is. Grinned devilishly, he leaned down. He held my body to him, so I was flush up against him, and he bent down so much that my spine curved. He then proceeded to kiss me. Passionately. This time I didn't fight it, but let him take control of me. I didn't really want to fight it. Damn, he was good at distracting me from important things. Ciel also was good at making me forget my fear- for better or worse.

I made a low moaning noise from the back of my throat, before weaving my hands in his hair. Ciel hummed in satisfaction to this as he continued to move his lips in sync with mine. Ciel bit at my lower lip, and I gave him permission without really thinking about it. Given my permission, Ciel deepened the kiss, until I had to come back up for air.

When I did finally made him stop, putting my hands on his shoulders, I panted. I took a deep breath, looking down to avoid his gaze.

"Why do you always do this to me?" I asked wearily. I could hear Ciel chuckle from above me, before he leaned down to tenderly kiss the top of my head. I flushed slightly at the small form of affection. Leaning up, I quickly pecked his jawline, before scurrying away before he could catch me.

I closed the door to the bathroom, rather loudly, before bending over the sink, trying to process what I had just done. _Well, for one, you just snogged a demon... _Shut up, brain! But that was the first advance I had done on my own since we started... whatever this was. I shook my head to clear it of my thoughts. Stupid demon, distracting me from what was _actually _important. AKA, Claude.

I shivered as I remembered my quote-on-quote 'nightmare'. I don't know what exactly that was, but I know I have to stop Claude from marking me somehow... I don't want someone else to do it (*cough* Ciel *cough*). For one, it was extremely painful from what I know. Two, I didn't want to belong to anyone, I was myself and nobody could 'own' me. I'm very independent, and stubborn, and I don't like feeling like I belong to anybody. But how would I stop it?

Sighing to myself, I got dressed and walked back into my room. Ciel was gone by then- thank God. I don't know if I could face him right now. Picking up my iPod, and placing it in my pocket, I was struck with an idea. I was supposedly the reincarnation of Medea, shouldn't that mean I could do spells? But if going by what Ciel said was any hint at all, I would have to be feeling a strong emotion. Thinking back on that day, I was reminded of Ciel's reaction to my birthday. What was that all about? I guess I would ask him later...

I made my way to the library, intent of finding _some_ book that would help me with my quest. I know, a library wouldn't usually have a book on things like that, but it was a library owned by a demon- I might get lucky.

I arrived at the library semi-quickly, as the weather was rainy and it was affecting my prosthetic. It was sticking more than usual, meaning I was moving slower. Fantastic. (Note the sarcasm). Sometimes I really regret saving that girl... Not really, but I do wish I still had both legs; having a prosthetic is stupid.

Shutting the doors to the library, I limped my way to the section where most of the mythology books were. If there was a book like the one I was looking for, it would be there. Sighing to myself, I sat down with a large stack of books, and got to work.

About four hours later, I came up with nothing. There was no magical spell, not even a _reference_ to one. I call bullshit. I groaned, banging my head against the wall. And magically, a secret door opened. I gaped at the door for a moment. That was just too convenient.

"Ciel?" I called out suspiciously, spinning on my heel to face the library. No one was there. But then again, that didn't necessarily mean no one was there. "Sebastian?" I asked again. No answer. Slowly, I turned back to face the secret door. It was dark, but I could see a torch illuminating a dark hallway.

"Okay," I sighed to myself, "Go down the mysterious hallway, and get ax murdered, or _don't_ get ax murdered by not going down the creepy hallway." I thought about it for a moment. "Eh, screw common sense. Let's explore the dark, probably dangerous hallway!" Charge! I started to walk down the hallway. When I reached the first torch, I took it. I didn't understand how they could be burning, but whatever. Magic.

Luckily, it didn't lead to a dark dungeon where I would be ceremoniously murdered, but another library- albeit smaller. There wasn't much furniture, except for a wooden desk that was covered in dust, and a plush chair. I trailed a finger over the spines of the books. I smirked to myself. These were the useful books. They all had titles like, 'Demon History', or 'The World of Grim Reapers'. I didn't know that grim reapers existed, but hey- anything was possible. I would believe in anything at this point.

Finally, I came across a book simply titled, 'Spells'. This was the one. Picking up the hefty volume, I left the room, after giving it one, last sweeping look. I let out a relieved breath after I exited the creepy passageway. Even if I did find what I was looking for, it was creepy as hell in there. There was no way I was going back, not even to return this book. It was so easy to imagine a murderer hiding in there...

I sat down with the spell book, and I quickly found the spell I was looking for. _Well, that was pretty easy, now let's look at the spell. _As it turns out, it was a pretty simple spell- well, to me. But I had no idea how these things worked. I don't even know if I do it. But I know one thing for certain, I'm not allowing Ciel to 'mark' me.

As it turned out, I would only have to recite an incantation over a reflective surface. Unfortunately, I would also have to cut my hand. Ouch. Just because I can deal with pain relatively well, does not mean I enjoy self-inflicting pain on myself. Well, at least it's just my hand, and I don't have to chop off a limb or something. That would be a bit much, especially considering I only have three left.

I murmured the incantation under my breath, it was three line- but the book said that it had to be pronounced perfectly, and recited three times, or else something bad happen. It didn't go into detail, but I could guess at what that meant. _I better get the pronunciation correct..._ I don't want to know what the consequences are.

After about half an hour of practicing, I was confident that I had it perfect. I shut the book, the sound echoing throughout the empty room, before striding to my room. I collected a medium sized mirror, and one of my throwing knives. When I got settled, I took a deep breath. _This better work..._ I let out my breath, closing my eyes, before then opening them again.

Slowly, I began to chant,

"_**Achetay, achetay, kroono no lia **_

_**Pog no zo vjoo vjen zegs sopp umw sofoum**_

_**ge zo amxpuinow.**_"

After I recited it the first time, I cut my hand with my knife. Then I clenched my hand into a fist over the mirror, letting the blood drip onto the reflective surface. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I recited it for the second time.

"_**Achetay, achetay, kroono no lia **_

_**Pog no zo vjoo vjen zegs sopp umw sofoum**_

_**ge zo amxpuinow**_."

Almost done... The already dim lights in the library, started to flicker, almost costing my concentration. Just one more time. I tensed my muscles, sweating with concentration. I focused on my fear, and my longing for freedom. If this was going to work, I would need my emotions to help me.

"_**Achetay, achetay, kroono no lia **_

_**Pog no zo vjoo vjen zegs sopp umw sofoum**_

_**ge zo amxpuinow.**_"

As I finished the final verse, the lights in the library swelled to their fullest brightness, before burning out, and going completely black. My eyes widened at the sight. I guess that means it worked... Before I could celebrate too much, I checked the spot between my neck and my shoulder. I smiled and cheered. It was gone, Claude's mark was gone!

I breathed a sigh of relief, before completely relaxing. My head leaned against the chair I was leaning on. I had done the ceremony on the floor, as to avoid blood stains, but I was completely relaxed. I laughed, half out of tiredness, and half out of relief. I was in a strange mood, that's to say the least. But at least I was safe- for now.

The door to the library slammed open, revealing Ciel, Alois, and Sebastian. I raised an eyebrow, before trying to pick myself off the ground. "Yes, how can I help you?" I asked, trying to ignore the fact that I was wearing blood stained clothes, and my hair probably looked a mess. Yeah, I bet I looked fantastic right now. (Again, sarcasm).

"What did you do?" Alois blurted out.

"I just performed a spell," I said, my mind fuzzy. My thought process wasn't really working at the moment, but I blamed that on the blood loss. I tried to stand up, and promptly almost fell down. Why was the room spinning? Luckily, someone caught me, and sat me down in a chair.

"What exactly did you do?" Ciel asked urgently. Why was he being so loud? I was suddenly hit with how exhausted I was. Did spells really drain that much energy? How did Medea do it?

"I- He can't mark me now- I'm safe," I said incoherently. Ciel looked worried about my (mental) health.

"Thea," he said carefully, "I'm going to take you to your room now, you have to rest for a while." I giggled at that, sounding like a little girl. I was as loopy as a fruit loop right now.

"But I'm not tired!" I whined like the five-year-old version of myself. Ciel sighed as he picked me up and started to carry me to my room. "Come on, Ciel! I don't wanna go to sleep!"

"Trust me, you need it," Ciel said, rolling his eyes at me for a moment. I smiled happily at him, and snuggled into him. I liked being near him... I should be near him more often...

Leaning my head up a little, I gave him an Eskimo kiss. You know, where you rub your nose with the other person's? I gave him one of those. When I pulled away, he had a slight tint of pink on his cheeks. I laughed giddily at him.

"Haha, you're blushing!" I exclaimed, pointing at his face as we reached my room. Ciel scowled slightly, but was unable to remove the blush. He set me gently down on my bed, and tucked me in like the child I was acting like at the moment. I snuggled down under the covers, the moment he pulled them over me.

"I love you, Ciel," I said with a smile, as Ciel was walking away. I saw his shoulders stiffen, but by the time he had turned around, I was fast asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi guys~~~! I'm back. This is a day late, but this week has been really shitty so far. But here it is! (I literally wrote half of this in the span of two hours) Also, sorry for any typos!

I got some rather mean reviews the past couple days ago. (And I don't mean, criticizing, I'm fine with that). But please, no flames! None of us are professional authors (far from it), and we're all just writing for fun. So please, if you don't like it, then just don't read it. It's as simple as that. There is no need for rude reviews.

Anyway, on another note, a question popped up that may have occurred to some of you. Ciel is older because, as a demon, they're supposed to be perfect. And I feel like Ciel's perfect age wouldn't be 13, but rather older. But that's my logic.

I would like to thank killerdawgrox for helping with the kiss scene. She is amazing!

Reviews~~~!

Kingcastles: Awww... I'm so glad that you like it! (I really like writing, specifically this story. I can't stop myself from updating!) And I know, I hate it when stores take forevvvvvvvvver to update. I just want to read it! Anyway, I'm glad that you like it!

Sakemori: You better believe I threw it! *snaps in z-formation* But don't worry! I still love you~~~~

Animegeek00: I love that song! I'm glad that you like this fic! (Thea also thanks you for your love)

LuNaLoVeComiCs: I'm glad you like it, and that it's not moving too fast!

MagentaPeace: *le gasp* THE FORCE! (I actually haven't seen Star Wars... :'( ) OMG OMG OMG! I FREAKING LOVE MERLIN! BBC ALL THE WAY! And you'll find out in the next chapter... *laughs mysteriously*

darkshadow400: I'm glad that you liked the chapter! I though Thea being Medea would be a good plot twist. You'll have to find out about her birthday... I'm glad you liked the kiss!

Paxloria: Thanks! Yeah, I doubt that too, but when I was researching famous Greek witches, it said that Medea was known for her ability for foresight, but it was partially out of convenience. *laughts nervously* And I agree, Thea should be freaked out about Ciel's reaction, and she will be...

fluffyskyloxables: I'm afraid I'm not planning a chapter like that (I don't really do love triangles), but I may have Alois do something on accident. It's a good idea, I'll PM you if I do...

killerdawgrox: I LET YOU HELP, YO' WELCOME (P.S. To other readers. This is my friend, I'm allowed to yell at her ;) )

Please R&amp;R


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

I woke up with a pounding headache in my head. Ugg... What was that? I scrunched up my face for a moment, before gathering the courage to open my eyes. Surprisingly, it wasn't actually that bright. I blinked, before looking around. What had happened last night? As I looked around the room, noticing that the curtains were closed to keep out the evil sun, my memories hit me.

Turning over, I groaned into my pillow. What the actual hell? I cannot believe that I actually said 'I love you', to Ciel! Was I a complete idiot? Granted, I was in a magic, spell- induced state, but still. You would think that I would be more self-conscious. Oh God, I groaned again, louder this time. How did Ciel react? Fu-

Before I could finish that thought, I hopped up from my bed, momentarily swaying from slight dizziness. I blinked a couple of times, and managed to regain my senses- and most of my mind. I stumbled over to the bathroom, on an unsteady leg/prosthetic, and got ready as best I could. Which basically meant, not getting dressed and putting my hair back in a messy bun. I was sure as hell not getting dressed today- just, no.

After I got semi-ready, I debated whether or not to go outside. I stood, pondering on it, while staring contemplating at the door. I teetered back and forth, should I? I hated being alone, but was it worth it? I mentally sighed, I would have to see Ciel _some _time. And maybe he hadn't even heard me. (It was a slim chance, I know, but it was my only hope). Sighing out loud, I creaked open the door, and stepped outside.

Okay, so far so good. I closed the door behind me, and started to make my way towards the kitchen to steal some food. When going past Ciel's study, I kept to the opposite side of the wall, and was as quiet as possible. (Which probably didn't do much, since DEMON HEARING).

Finally, I reached the kitchen, where I found Sebastian was cooking. Crap. Wincing slightly, I opened the door. Now I have to deal with _people_. Well, not technically _people_, but- you know what, screw it. Sebastian looked up as I entered the kitchen.

"Miss Thea, how may I help you?" He asked politely, with a small smirk. I swear, everyone in this household has a smirking problem (including me).

"I need food! I'm _starving_," I said dramatically, leaning on the counter, while putting my hand to my forehead. Sebastian merely gave a closed-eye smile, before putting a plate of ready made food in front of me. Which looked delicious by the way. I had never understood why Sebastian was so good at cooking, he was British. Smiling happily, I took a bite and my eyes widened.

"Oh my God, thank you so much, this is amazing!" I exclaimed, quickly shoving another bite into my mouth. Sebastian looked amused at my enthusiasm.

"You're welcome," he answered, giving me another closed-eye smile. It was slightly creepy, in reality. I quickly finished off the remaining food on my plate, and hummed in satisfaction. Getting up, I started to head back upstairs.

"Are you alright after last night?" Sebastian inquired. I froze in my tracks, my thoughts immediately going back to the three-worded-sentence-that-shall-not-be-named.

"O-Oh, yes. Perfectly fine, thanks for asking!" I said nervously, with a smile. Sebastian arched an eyebrow, seeing through my very, obvious lie. Now, most of the time, I'm good at lying- just not when it concerns something like this. I just suck at it, and I can't even make myself better at it.

"Oh, really?" Sebastian asked, drawing out the words.

"Yes, really!" I exclaimed, backing away, "Now, I- um- have to go- do something, bye!" I ran outside the door, slamming it behind me. I could hear his chuckle from inside the room. Shivering slightly, and blushing, I practically ran away from the kitchen, towards my room.

Once I got upstairs, I slowed down, no longer convinced that someone was chasing after me. However, I didn't want to go to my room, so I started to make my way to the music room. Thankfully, my blush was dying down- finally. I hated this, I really did. But there wasn't much I could do about it.

When I got closer to the music room, I started to hear someone playing a violin. Now, I admit, I was good at playing piano, but any stringed instrument that I touched, broke immediately. I was a bad luck charm on orchestras. My old orchestra teacher was still mourning his broken cello. After that incident, I decided to stick with piano. After all, it was almost impossible to harm one since they were so large. So they- thankfully- were safe from me.

But even if I sucked at playing stringed instruments, I loved the sound. I loved watching someone play, listening to it, dancing to it. _But_, I looked down at my prosthetic, frowning, _I can't really do that anymore, can I? _I used to dance- not professionally, just for fun- and I had always enjoyed it. Unfortunately, after I lost my leg, it was impossible for me to continue. Well, at least I didn't lose an arm, or anything, that would be much worse for me.

Creeping closer to the door, I peered inside to be greeted with the sight of Ciel playing the violin. My eyes widened. He was amazing. His eyes were closed, so he couldn't see me, and he seemed lost in the music. He swayed slightly with the song, his arm moving the bow back and forth gracefully. It was almost like a painting, with how perfect the scene was.

I didn't even notice that he had stopped playing, until he opened his eyes, and saw me. I froze, my eyes staring back into his. _Shit_. Could I get away with just sprinting away? No, probably not._ Dammit. _

I creaked open the door, and shuffled inside. My head was sunk lower than usual, and I was looking up at him guiltily, like a child caught stealing cookies.

"Hi..." I said awkwardly. _Well done, Thea, well done!_ I was an idiot. Ciel didn't say anything to my immensely awkward greeting, but instead continued looking at me cryptically.

"Are you alright?" Ciel asked, after a very, long moment's silence. I let out the breath I had been holding.

"I'm fine," I answered, "I don't think there are any lasting effects." I clasped my hands behind my back. Ciel sighed with relief, his shoulders relaxing.

"I glad you're okay," Ciel said. He sat down on the piano bench, and started to clean and put the instrument away. I smiled slightly at his statement. For some reason, it made me happy that he cared about me. _Gah! Stop the stupid, romance-y feelings! _As much as I wanted to, I couldn't.

"I didn't know you played violin," I said after a moment, leaning down to look inside the case. I knew better than to touch it, though. I do not want to destroy something (again). The corner of Ciel's mouth tugged upwards.

"I've been playing for a _very_ long time," Ciel said, with a slight smirk. I smiled back at him. I had no doubt, that that was absolutely true. You know, being immortal must be good for developing new skills... Interesting...

"When did you start learning?" I asked curiously. Ciel looked at me, his head tilted slightly to the side, as if wondering why I wanted to know. I admit, I wanted to know more about him. He may have told me some things- like how he was turned into a demon- but there must have been more than that. Everyone had friends, and loves, and people who cared about them- even if you don't see it at the time. There will always be someone who will miss you when you are no longer on this Earth- no matter if you've seen that person one time or a thousand. Ciel tilted his head, not in question, but in thinking, this time.

"I believe that I started when I was ten," Ciel answered, after a moment's pause. My eyebrows shot up, that was pretty young, but I had kind of expected younger, since he was born a noble.

"Who taught you?" I asked, sitting down on the piano bench next to him.

"Sebastian," he answered shortly. My eyes widened. So, that meant that he was sold into the cult when he was ten? He was so young... Without really thinking about it, I leaned up, and gently kissed Ciel's forehead. It was an instinct of mine, to make everything okay. I loved to comfort people, I don't know what it is about me, but I loved to- I couldn't help it. After I did it, he gave me an odd look, and I turned as red as a stop sign.

"I'm sorry!" I yelped, scooting away. "I didn't mean t- umph!" I was cut off by Ciel kissing me gently. Not like before, but more like he was searching for comfort. Luckily, I was more than willing. His hand went to the back of my head, tilting it back, and my hands wove themselves in his navy colored hair.

After a moment, I broke for air, leaning my forehead against his. Our breaths mingled together, and we sat like that for a moment, until my heart stopped racing. I- I loved being this close to him. (Oh, God. Is this what being in love was like?) I was aching to say it... But I knew I shouldn't.

In all honesty, I was afraid. I was afraid that my love wouldn't be returned. (Yes, I know that sounds stupid, and romance-y, and sappy- and you'd be right. It is, but that's how I feel). Besides, both of us were too afraid to get very close to someone, anymore.

Ciel could obviously see the conflict in my eyes, because he smiled slightly, before kissing me again briefly. I smiled back at him, before retracting my hands and putting them back at my sides. Ciel reluctantly did the same, but he kept close to me. I fell back into one of our usual positions, with my head on his shoulder, and his arm wrapped around my waist. It felt good to have some semblance of normalcy. So much had happened, it was just stupid. Ciel was twirling my hair in between his fingers.

"I need to talk to you, with everyone, about something later," Ciel said uneasily, momentarily stopping playing with my hair. I came out of our position to look up at him. What was he talking about- did it have to do with Claude? I was suddenly reminded of his reaction to my birthday. My eyes widened. Did it have to do with that? I hoped so, I wanted to know. But then again, sometimes knowing isn't a good thing.

"Okay." I shifted uncomfortably. I put my head back down on Ciel's shoulder, and felt his head lean on mine. I smiled, my eyes closed. Everything just felt so calm...

Abruptly, the door to the music room crashed open, revealing Alois in the doorway. Both of us, startled, jumped up and got as far as possible away from each other. Alois didn't look even remotely ashamed, at interrupting something. As Alois looked between us, he smirked.

"Were you two kissing in here?" Alois teased, his hands on his hips.

"No!" I exclaimed, blushing.

"Yes," Ciel said bluntly, at the exact same time as me. I turned to glare at him, but he merely smirked at me. I rolled my eyes at him.

"You know, for a moment there, you were being sweet," I scolded, crossing my arms in front of my chest. Ciel smirked in response. Alois cackled at us.

"Ha! I knew you two were kissing!" It's safe to say, that Alois was kicked out of the room shortly after.

Shortly after, we were all called to Ciel's study, and we were standing in it. Well, Alois and Sebastian were standing, I was sprawled out in an armchair, in front of Ciel's desk.

"So," I started, "What did you need us for?" I had pretty much gotten over last night, by now. I think, so did Ciel. Ciel cleared his throat, looking a bit grim.

"Sebastian and I were looking at the prophecy that you said," Ciel said gravely, "And a few things started to make sense with the passing days. The line about 'the very darkest day', made sense after you told me your birthday?" I was confused for a moment, before realizing what he meant.

"Wait, so I get why Halloween would be the 'darkest day', but what does me having been born on it, have anything to do with it?" I questioned, confused in the extreme. What did this mean? Ciel cleared his throat, before looking pointedly at Sebastian. I looked over at him.

"Humans born on All Hallow's Eve, are always different from other humans. Some are psychics, like you, or they have some power that they may not even be aware of. But they always have one thing in common, they are always highly sought after by demons. It may be because of their powers, but more likely because of their souls," Sebastian said. I looked at him warily... I don't like where this is going...

"Humans whose birthdays are on Halloween, generally have souls that attract demons. However, they don't usually eat them- they just enjoy them when they are near them. I personally don't know how they do this, but this is what I have heard," Sebastian explained smoothly. I relaxed slightly. I wasn't really worried about a demon eating my soul (at least in the manor), but it was reassuring to say the least. I didn't have a death wish, and I was irritating enough for someone to wish I would disappear. I really have no sense of survival... I'm like ninety percent sure that my death will be caused by being sarcastic at the wrong moment.

"But why would a 'war' start on Halloween, what makes it the 'darkest day'. I mean, I know the superstitions, but what about it is true?" I asked. Ciel and Sebastian glanced at each other, almost too quick for me to notice. Key word: 'almost'. Ciel cleared his throat.

"Demons are strongest on Halloween, it is one of the days when the walls between the worlds are weaker," Ciel stated. I leaned back in my chair, sighing to myself.

"Well, that makes for a shitty birthday," I mumbled to myself. Alois heard me, and started chuckling, and I gave him a half-smile.

"Claude will probably attack on Halloween, and attempt to steal you away," Ciel continued, "However, he will most likely do it in the night, so we have plenty of time to prepare." I nodded, well at least my entire birthday wasn't ruined...

"But why does Claude want me anyway? I know why he would try to use me, to get to you, etc. etc. But he could just kill me or torture me to do that, and he doesn't seem to want to kill me," I said urgently. It just didn't make sense, in order to use me to get to Ciel, Claude would just have to torture me or something. But that's not what he's doing. It's almost as if... he's trying to claim me for himself.

My eyes widened, as Ciel looked at me grimly. "That's what I was getting to, since you were born on Halloween..." Ciel trailed off, letting me fill in the blanks.

"Oh, shit!" I said. I may or may not have thrown up a little in my mouth. "No, no, no, no, no, and no." My eyes were wide, and I my face was dead serious. I would _literally_ rather die, than belong to Claude. And I'm using literally correctly! No, just no. I jumped up from my seat, standing up to face Ciel. My hands were clenched at my sides.

"Trust me, I feel the same," Ciel said dryly, resting his head on his fist. "But trust me, we will do all we can so he doesn't manage to capture you." I shook my head.

"That's not the point!" I exclaimed, taking out a piece of paper that Ciel had written my entire prophecy on. I hadn't remembered a word of it, once I had woken up. I had done a surprising amount of passing out lately, I was like Jason... Anyway. "You're ignoring the rest of the prophecy. For one, who is the dark knight? It says that 'the dark knight will fall', but who is it?" I demanded. Ciel got a shocked look on his face, before turning to Sebastian. I arched an eyebrow at them.

"Sebastian is the dark knight? How do you know?" I asked urgently. It was important that we figured the prophecy out. Though, from my knowledge of prophecies- which mainly came from Percy Jackson- prophecies could go one way, when it seems like it's going in another. They were tricky, and you couldn't take anything for granted.

"While I was human, I often compared life to chess. Sebastian was the knight," Ciel explained, still looking remotely shocked. You know, for a genius, he was surprisingly stupid.

"So that makes you the king," I realized. _I was so stupid! _How could I not realize that? "Well, at least we have that figured out. But the prophecy is making this sound like more than just a petty feud between a couple of demons- this sounds like a war is breaking out," I said seriously, "Just look, 'realms collide, and balance to preserve or raze', that sounds a whole lot like war." Everyone's attention was rapt on me.

"And this," I continued, "Order versus chaos, that makes it sound less like demons versus demons, and more like everyone versus everyone. This is talking about a supernatural war, that even humans will be taking part in." Ciel was silent after my explanation. He had a focused, thinking look on his face.

"You're right," Ciel said, after a moment. "I need time to think." With that, Ciel dismissed us, and we all went in separate directions. I went to my room, to think. That was a lot of information to process.

I spent the next several hours, making notes in a journal, and reading several different books on supernatural. Most of them were just fiction books that I got from the book store, that didn't really help at all. But they were good, I liked them. But by the time I finished, I glanced out the window, and saw that it was almost pitch-black. My eyebrows shot up, and I looked at the clock. It was almost eleven at night. I should _probably_ go to sleep. Laying down, after putting everything away, I tried to go to sleep.

After another hour of sleepless torment, I groaned aloud to my room. I threw my pillow against the wall in frustration. I don't know why, but I didn't want to be alone. I mean, I never wanted to be alone- in fact, I hated it- but I could usually deal with it during the night. But for some reason, my childish fear of being alone at night came back. I sighed, before grabbing my pillow off the floor, and making my way towards Ciel's room. Hopefully he would be there- or maybe not hopefully. I wasn't quite sure at the moment.

When I got to his room, I cracked the door open. I was greeted with the sight of Ciel sitting on his bed, reading something in his lap.

"Ciel?" I asked cautiously. He looked up at me, slightly confused for a moment, before getting an understanding expression.

"Yes, Thea?" He answered. I took that as permission to enter, and did so, shutting the door behind me. My feet shuffled, and I looked down, slightly ashamed of what I was going to ask. It had been forever since I needed to sleep with someone at night. The last time- discounting the night with Akarian- was when I was five, and there was a thunderstorm. I had gone into my parents room, to sleep with them. That was one of my favorite nights in my memories.

"Can I sleep here tonight?" I asked quietly. I knew he could hear me (Again, demon hearing), so I didn't repeat myself. When I looked up, I could see him smiling at me.

"Of course, come on," he said, motioning for me to come over. Happily, I obeyed, sliding under the covers of his bed. For some reason, his bed was the comfiest object in the entire world. I don't know what it is, maybe it's the size- I don't know. But I really want it.

I smiled, as I snuggled down next to Ciel, wrapping my arms around his waist. He put one arm around my shoulders, and one he left free to play with my hair. He had an obsession with my hair, but I didn't really mind. I liked it when he played with it- it wasn't good for much else. Ciel was the only reason why I hadn't chopped it off by now.

Quickly darting up, I pecked his jawbone, before snuggling back down next to him. I could sense, rather than see, his smile above me, as he quickly squeezed my arm. I smiled sleepily, and soon fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi! I'm so sorry I'm updating this late, but you know- youtube. I'm afraid that I stayed up until 2 am last night, watching Danisnotonfire videos. He is hilarious, and British. Seriously, watch him. (Just not if you're easily offended)

Anyway, I typed this all today, and I had paper cut! (It hurts a surprising amount to type with a paper cut). You're welcome. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! (Note, may not make much sense because I'm tired as hell since I only got like five hours of sleep, and I don't feel like reading through this yet).

Reviews:

yukiii-chan: I'm so glad that you like Thea! I hope you liked the chapter!

Paxloria: I hope you liked the chapter (I'm trying not to switch Pov, because I don't like doing it and try to keep it in one perspective). And Claude won't be able to mark her (or will he...). And I think I might do something about 'training in magic'. And Claude isn't in SHR anymore, I'm so sorry if I haven't made that clear! I put it in one of the earlier chapters, but it wasn't very long, so I'm sorry if I wasn't very clear. (And don't worry, Claude and Alois will meet... ;))

Guest: I'm so glad that you liked the chapter!

Guest: She didn't make herself younger (As you can see), but that would be hilarious! I'm so glad that you like it!

foreveradreamerinlife: I'm so glad you like it! (And, no I'm not looking for Ocs for Sebastian and Alois. Maybe later though... I'll tell you first if I do, though. ;))

murakami-kumiko: I'm so glad you like this fic! And don't worry, you're not stupid, it was supposed to be a mystery. And I was actually planning a scene like that... (*cough* next chapter *cough*)

Esmereilda: I can't tell you that~~~~~ (But, in reality, no. I hate Claude). And it probably will happen with Ciel in the future. *wink*

darkshadow400: I'm glad you like the kiss scene! I hope you liked this chapter with Thea and Ciel!

MagentaPeace: I will, don't worry! (Plus, I blocked them). And don't worry, I'll keep writing. (Go Merlin! And all BBC!) I'm with you, Claude sucks. Don't worry, Thea's fine, and she thanks you for your concern!

Killerdawgrox: Yay! I'm glad you liked the kiss scene! I hope you liked the chapter!

GMWalcorn2713: *Throws update at you aggressively* There! Now stop complaining! And Sebastian does tend to get lost in the background, but this is CielXOC, so we can leave him to the fangirls. (Yay!) I hope you liked the chapter and it doesn't seem like someone on crack wrote it!

Please R&amp;R!


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

I woke up at around two in the morning, for apparently no reason. I blinked my eyes confusedly for a moment, until I realized where I was. I was still in Ciel's room. I remembered the events of the previous night. _I have _got_ to stop sleeping with Ciel... Annnnd, that sounded wrong..._ I mentally shook myself away from such thoughts, and turned my head to look at him.

Ciel was sleeping peacefully, his navy blue hair falling into his eyes. His eye patch was off, but I couldn't see his contract mark because his eyes were closed. He looked so peaceful when he slept... Unlike when he was awake, most of the time. I smiled softly, looking at him. I felt a sense of peace wash over me, just from being near him.

As of late, I was getting more and more attached to Ciel. The logical- rather small- part of my brain, said that this was bad, he was a demon, after all. But the other part- the part ruled by emotion- basically just said, 'screw that'. Unfortunately, that part was very illogical, and cannot be trusted to do important things. Such as falling in love. _Stupid brain..._ Sometimes I hated myself.

And then there was the part with me keeping everything bottled inside... but I'm not about to go into that battle right now. My mind can be incredibly destructive, and I don't want to bring that upon myself. Sighing, I opened my eyes, immediately noticing Ciel.

Ciel was so tense,t hat his back was as straight as an arrow, and his fists were clenched. There was perspiration on his forehead, and he was grimacing, as if reliving some horrible memory. My eyes widened- I knew these signs well, since I had them quite often. He was having a nightmare.

Not bothering to linger on the thought that demons can have nightmares, I scooted my way towards him. A concerned expression taking over my face, I gently placed a hand on his shoulder. I had better wake him up, before it progressed too far. I knew very well how unpleasant nightmares were.

"Ciel..." I said gently. I had barely touched him, before I was laying on my back, with Ciel holding my throat with one hand, and holding a gun in the other. The cold barrel of the gun, was pressed against my forehead, and I didn't react- not wanting to startle him. _...Why does he even have a gun in his bed...?_ He was a demon after all, why did he need a firearm?

His eyes were glazed over, glassy and unseeing. He was shaking slightly, and his skin was covered in a sheen of sweat. His contract mark on his eye, glowed purple in the dark room.

"Ciel," I said softly, lying perfectly still. Slowly, his eyes began to lose their glassy look, and went back to normal. He soon came back to his senses, and he had a horrified expression on his face.

"Thea..." Ciel began, loosening his grip on my throat, "O- Oh, I'm so sorry." He sat up, getting off of me, and sat back down beside me. He tossed the gun to the floor with a clatter, and I refused to flinch at the sound. I sat up slightly, and touched his arm.

"Ciel, it's alright," I reassured. I mean, he didn't mean to do it. I know what nightmares could do to a person, even after they're over. One time, when my mother tried to wake me up, I hadn't recognized her. I had tried to attack her, not that it was very effective- thank God for that. But I had to live with the fact that nightmares affected me so much, that I would even attack my family. That was a horrible thing to know- that I could lose control like that.

I could tell that he didn't believe me, but he didn't say anything to the contrary. Reaching out, I placed a hand on his arm.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" I asked. 'Apparently', talking about things helped- not that I really believed that. Who wants someone to know their secrets? Ciel seemed hesitant, so I added, "You don't have to, if you don't want to. I just thought that talking would make it better." Ciel was silent for a moment, before tightening his jaw, as if mentally preparing himself.

"I was in the cult," Ciel started, his voice wavering slightly, "And they tortured me- starved me. I felt all the pain that they had inflicted, all the humiliation that they did to me." His voice gradually became stronger, the longer that he talked. My face fell in sorrow for him. He didn't deserve that- but then again, since when was the world fair? Since the dawn of time, it had been eat or be eaten. And that barbaric practice is still used now- even if we like to pretend that it isn't.

"A-and t-they," Ciel's voice broke off completely, leaving the sentence unfinished. My eyes widened, and I reached over to embrace him. I could guess as to what they had done to him... Nothing like that had ever happened to me, and I couldn't fully understand what that felt like. And I didn't want to.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, closing my eyes as a single tear of sympathy slid out from under my lid. I could feel Ciel bury his face in the crook of my neck, holding me tightly to him. I may not be able to fully understand the depth of what had been done to him, but I did understand most of it. I knew what loss was, I knew what it was like to lose your family- and even yourself, at times.

Ciel continued holding me to him, like that, until the sun had fully come up. By the time I tried to get up, it was well past eight. Usually, I would sleep in very late- unless I had a nightmare- but I felt it was time to get up.

"Come on, time to get up," I said, trying to release myself from his arms. He was having none of it. In response, he held me tighter, and grumbled a little.

"No..." He mumbled. I sighed, rolling my eyes at him.

"Aren't you the one who always wakes me up early?" It was true. He had an annoying habit of waking me up extremely early (for me), and then just leaving without another word. And when he didn't do that, he sends Sebastian to do it for him. I'm like ninety-five percent sure that he gets enjoyment out of my suffering. Ciel just mumbled in response, but I could feel him smirk against my neck.

"For the love of- Just get off!" I twisted around, trying in vain to get free. Leaning my head back, I groaned. I sighed at him, but then got a spark in my eye, as I considered a new idea. I narrowed my eyes at him, this could work... Preparing myself for the possible consequences, I bumped him hard in the pelvis with my back. His grip loosened (possibly in surprise), when I did, and I took the opportunity to break free from his grasp. I made it halfway towards the door, before I felt a pulling sensation on my wrist. Turning around, no one was there, and Ciel was smirking at me.

"That's not fair!" I exclaimed. Faster than I could blink, I was pulled back towards the bed, into Ciel's arms. I immediately regretted my decision. He pulled me flush up against him, my back up against him, so I couldn't see his face.

"I shouldn't have done that..." I said regretfully. I could feel him smirk up against my neck.

"No, you shouldn't have," Ciel said, smirking. I groaned inwardly, but then Sebastian chose that moment to enter the room. Upon entering, and seeing our position, he gave an amused smirk at the sight. I flushed bright red, and renewed my struggles to get free.

"GTFO! I am not a pillow!" I exclaimed, twisting and turning, trying to get free. Unfortunately, as Ciel was a demon, that was not possible.

"Yes you are," Ciel mumbled into me. He was acting like a child; he was in a strange mood this morning. I rolled by eyes at him, before giving up, and going limp. I rolled over slightly, so I was lying on my back. Sebastian was standing there, looking at me with an amused expression.

"There are no words in the English language, to describe how much I hate you," I grumbled, looking at the ceiling.

"Mmmm..." Ciel said, leaning up to smirk at me, "You don't hate me." He leaned down to quickly peck my lips, before getting up. I flushed, and scowled at him. Sebastian chuckled to himself, looking on with amusement.

"I hate all of you," I said scowling. Both of them smirked at me, and I flushed even darker. It didn't help that Ciel looked very attractive with his tousled hair. He caught me looking at him, and smirked at me. Flushing, I crossed my arms in front of my chest, and then stood up and left without another word.

When I got to my room, I closed my door and leaned against it, sighing. My blush had finally faded, and I was thankful for that. I swear, Ciel will be the death of me... If I don't die from blood loss first, because of nose bleeds. Shaking my head, I got up and got dressed.

It felt kind of unnecessary to get dressed, but I felt guilty. Before yesterday, I had gone several days without wearing any 'real' clothes what-so-ever. But pajamas are just better! They are comfier, you could move more in them, and you didn't have to get undressed at the end of the day! _Wow, I should be on a commercial for pajamas... I would be awesome at that..._

I briefly considered the idea of staying in my room, but I decided not to. I still didn't want to be alone. Grabbing my laptop, I made my way to Ciel's office. I had mostly calmed down after the- uh- 'previous' events. I couldn't stay mad for long, anyway. At least, not at friends.

I entered the study, not knocking as usual, and plopped myself down in one of the chairs. For some reason, his chairs were some of the comfiest chairs in the house. Plus, they were _huge_. I could fit my entire body into one. Ciel was already sitting at his desk, looking over papers that I was sure were unimportant. What did he do in here anyway? Obviously not work all the time, since I had caught him reading novels in here a couple times.

After about an hour of random internet surfing, I gave up on the hopeless mess- AKA the internet- and started to examine Ciel. I had always just loved watching him (not in the creepy twilight-y way, but just looking at him.) Today, however, he caught me staring. Ciel raised an eyebrow in question, looking directly at me. I didn't blush, or feel embarrassed what-so-ever, which was a first for me.

"Why do you wear your eye patch in the manor?" I asked absently. After all, the only people here was Sebastian, Alois, and me. All of us knew of his and Sebastian's true nature, so why did he hide it? He looked slightly shocked at the question, as if he had never thought to consider it.

"I don't know," Ciel said, confirming my suspicions, "I guess I'm just used to it by now." I nodded in acknowledgment. "If we're on the subject, why do you always seek out company, even if you don't need it?" I guess I looked confused, because Ciel went on, "Like now, you'll come in here, and just read a book. Or when it's not me, you will seek out Alois or Sebastian." I adopted a thoughtful expression.

"I don't like being alone," I said, lowering my eyes, "I never have. Being alone means my mind is free to wander." For some, being alone may be a good thing- but for me, it isn't. My mind isn't very kind to me, and if I'm left alone for too long, I will be destroyed. My mind was fragile enough, I didn't need to do that to it. I was under no illusion of my mental stability, I knew with one push, I could go off the edge. I just tried to stay far away from it.

Ciel didn't say anything, but slight twitching of his lips betrayed his emotions to me. It was almost scary how well I could read him now. Before, I couldn't tell whether he was happy, or angry. There were many times when I had no idea what he was thinking, but other times I could. I wouldn't say I understood him completely- I don't think that's even possible. Ciel was like a puzzle to me, and I wanted to solve him. I think he thought the same about me.

We both stayed in a comfortable silence after that. Ciel was 'doing work', and I was on my laptop. Whenever I tried to do something productive on my laptop, I ended up going on Pinterest, or surfing Youtube. The internet was a dangerous place. Also, if you want to go on it, take a moment to say goodbye to your friends and family. You will never see them again.

At one point, I looked up to see Ciel reading my newest novel. 'Nevermore' had been published several weeks ago, and I'm guessing that Ciel was just now getting to read it. I silently thanked whoever was listening that he didn't know I was the author. My book may have some... parallels, to my life. I was just hoping that he wouldn't figure it out. However smart he may be, he was still incredibly stupid.

After a couple hours, I became aware of someone watching me. Blinking, I turned my head to see Ciel staring at me. I cocked an eyebrow at him. "What?" I asked. Ciel merely arched an eyebrow, and lazily held up the finished book by its corner. I swallowed, please don't let him figure it out, please don't let him figure him out.

"You wrote this, didn't you?" He asked bluntly. A slightly flush stained my cheeks, and I hid my face by turning away.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said, shifting so my face was better hidden. I could practically feel his smirk from across the room. He started to get up, and I bolted up from my chair, towards the door. Before I could halfway to freedom, Ciel caught me. I froze once he took hold of my arm.

"Your book was very... interesting," Ciel commented slyly, "It seemed almost... _familiar_." I swallowed thickly, uh-oh. "I didn't know you were capable of keeping secrets, that well." I rolled my eyes at that.

"No shit, Sherlock. It was obvious if you were paying enough attention. Besides, it's not keeping secrets if you didn't ask," I retorted. Ciel paused for a moment, before chuckling, and releasing me. I turned around, crossing my arms, and scowled at him. "And you can't just do that!" I exclaimed. He can't just grab me every time I started to go away. Then again, he was in a strange mood today.

"Oh, really?" Ciel asked, arching an eyebrow. He had a 'challenge accepted' look on his face. Oh shit. Grinning like the Cheshire cat, he pulled me so I was completely up against him.

"Ciel! You ca- umph!" I as cut off as he continued to kiss me. Why did he always do this? Better yet, why me? My mind started to go fuzzy, as he continued to kiss me. I made a small sound in the back of my throat, my eyes struggling to stay open.

I didn't like feeling like this- but I loved it at the same time. I felt so weak, my limbs wouldn't obey me. My mind was fuzzy, and wasn't processing things. I made a small noise of discontent. I didn't like it, I felt so out of control. My mind had cleared up just enough, so I could push him away.

"Stop," I whispered. "Stop," I said, in a stronger voice, forcing my voice not to waver. Ciel obeyed at the second one, before reaching up to caress my face.

"Thea?" He asked gently. I shook my head at him, before burying my face in his chest. I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself.

"Don't- do that," I ordered, looking up at him and staring him in his eye. My chest was still going up and down faster than normal, trying to catch my lost breath. Ciel looked slightly shocked for a moment, before smiling at me, and placing a kiss to my forehead. I closed my eyes as he did so, smiling softly. He moved away from me, and I immediately felt the loss.

Quickly placing a small peck on his cheek, I left the study. I headed to my room, ignoring the blush that stained my cheeks. Why did I always end up as red as a stop sign in this manor? I didn't use to blush that easily; in fact, I hardly ever used to blush at all. I blame stupid and very attractive demons. _Honestly..._

When I closed the door to my room, I leaned against the door, and slid down it. Why does this always happen to me? Aside from the fact that this was confusing as hell, I wasn't used to it. I've never had a boyfriend, or anything like that. I wasn't interested in love for the first decade and a half of my life. Besides, I was damaged, and who wanted that?

Sighing, I stood up, and made my way to the calendar. I needed to get some work done. Checking the calendar, I saw that it was about fifteen days until my birthday/the end of the world. Yay, happy birthday to me! (Note the sarcasm). I needed to get some work done. Taking out the spell book that I had stolen from Ciel's secret library, I sat down and got to work. If we were going to have a war, than I better be ready.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi friends (or enemies, whatever) I updated! I hope you liked it, and I admit, this was mainly an excuse for me to write fluff. It's addictive... I didn't know it was this much fun! But I did get to do some character relationship developing, so it's not _entirely_ useless. Plus it was fun!

I'm sorry I didn't update sooner, we have a shit-ton of tests this week, and I just managed to write this tonight. So, sorry!

Reviews:

awesomealixe: I'm so glad that you love it! It's always good to know that people like Thea. And in response to your question about Thea, I can't tell you. I know, I'm sorry, but you'll find out. About Doctor Who... I can't decide. It used to be ten, but I just don't know anymore... They're all amazing!

Fluffyskyloxables: I am trying to create an 'aura of mystery', it's not just you. Don't worry, I'll try to clear up anything later on.

Killerdawgrox: I'm glad that you liked it!'

Magenta Peace: I'm glad that you liked the war thing! (I always try to add plot if I can, I don't like it when it's only on the romance!) I'm so glad you like it! *hugz* And I'm with you on Claude. I hate him.

Dark shadow400: I'm so glad you liked it! I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations!

Murakami-kumiko: I'm so glad that you like it! And voila, here is your scene! And you're perfectly welcome!

Sakemori: You'll find out~~ *evil laugh* I love it when I call things too! It's so satisfying, I feel like Sherlock Holmes.

The Billionth Random Monkey: It makes me happy that you like this fic! I always like a little adventure too!

Esmereilda: It's good to know that I'm getting better at romance (Phew), I'm glad you like Thea and Ciel! I thought it would be funny if they were interrupted (That happens again in here!) I'm glad you liked the birthday bit!

Please R&amp;R!


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"Cieeeeeeeeeelllllll!" I called, walking into his study. He didn't even bother to look up at me, as I entered the room. _Rude._ I hadn't had time to see Ciel much, as Sebastian was attempting to teach me magic (with disastrous results). Well, I say disastrous, but I was actually semi-okay at it, for someone who had never done magic before. Though, part of it was that Sebastian didn't know much about it-besides demon magic, which didn't really help me- and he wasn't that good of a teacher. Gasp! Sebastian wasn't perfect at something? The world is ending!

"Yes?" He said after a moment, arching an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes at his behavior.

"Oh, don't act like I've interrupted something extremely important," I sighed, picking up a novel that he was hiding under his desk. Ciel scowled at me for a moment, before shutting the book, and leaning back in his chair. "Do you ever actually do any work in here? I'm beginning to think not." Ciel rolled his eyes at me, his long eyelashes fluttering as he did so. I grinned at him, before sprawling in one of his large, comfy chairs. I swear, I could sleep in these chairs, they were so comfortable.

"What is it?" Ciel asked resignedly. I grinned impishly at him, I was feeling especially hyper today. I hadn't had a chance to release my nervous energy in days, and it was showing. Poor Ciel, he had to put up with me.

"I need to go to London, hence why I'm actually wearing real clothes," I said, giving a bright smile. Mainly to annoy him. I hadn't had much time to annoy people, and actually have a semi-normal day. My brain was just counting down the days until Doomsday. What was worse than having the end of the world almost upon you, is not knowing. We had no idea how this supposed 'war' was supposed to stop. I didn't even know how kidnapping me was going to help it any- besides angering Ciel. What was even the point of it?

"You do realize that you could have just asked Sebastian?" Ciel inquired dryly. My face fell, and I got a dazed look in my eye.

"I suppose you're right..." Well, I was stupid. I immediately brightened back up, thought. "But can you take me?" Ciel rolled his eyes at me again, before hopping up.

"Yes," he sighed. My face brightened, and I hopped up from my seat.

"Awesome, I'll meet you down there!" I exclaimed, hopped up on thin air. Since I hadn't managed to get rid of any hyper energy the past week, Ciel would have to pay the price. I didn't especially want to do this to him, but I could really help it. It was kind of an unconscious decision.

I hurriedly grabbed my purse, which held all the most important necessities: tampons, phone, book, and iPod. Running downstairs, I found Ciel already waiting at the door, like always. Every time we went into the city, I tried to beat him down here, and always failed. _Stupid demon..._

"Hi!" I exclaimed, jumping to the floor. I was high on thin air, and not going outside for a week. I was a child... Oh well.

"What do you even need to go to London for?" Ciel asked casually, leaning against the door. He was dressed in black jeans, and a navy blue shirt. I'm pretty sure the only colors he ever wore, was blue and black.

"I need to get some African Violets," I answered nonchalantly, as if that was a perfectly normal thing to have to buy. Ciel raised an eyebrow in question at me, as we started to walk towards the car.

"May I ask why?" Ciel inquired, cocking his head to the side. I ran a hand through my hair, since it was down for once in my life. I honestly don't know how people leave it like this every single damn day. Honestly, it's so annoying! Why do girls have to have such long hair? Stupid society...

"It's supposed to be for a protection spell that I'm working on. Plus I just wanted to get away from Sebastian," I admitted. Ciel gave a half-smile at that.

"I completely understand," Ciel said seriously. I threw my head back, and laughed at that.

Ciel got in the car, and I got in the- correct- seat, and he began to drive. After a few moments of me gazing out the window, Ciel spoke.

"You're wearing earrings today," Ciel commented. I drew my eyebrows together for a moment, before realizing what he was talking about.

"Oh, yeah," I said, "I forgot about them, actually." I chuckled to myself. I only have two earring settings; leave them in forever, until they are practically crusted in, or never wear them for like three years.

"I haven't seen you wear earrings before," Ciel commented casually. I looked at him curiously.

"I don't usually wear them. I actually haven't worn them in..." I paused for a moment, counting how many years it had been, "Six years." Ciel's eyebrows shot up.

"And they haven't closed up?" He inquired incredulously. I shrugged nonchalantly.

"No, but I got my ears pierced when I was five, so they can't really close up anymore." Looking at him, I looked at his earrings. He always had them in- navy blue, stone earrings.

"How old were you when you got yours?" I asked curiously. It was strange, because I never saw a male in the Victorian era getting their ears pierced. I thought it would be taboo, or something. Ciel raised a shoulder, glancing at me.

"I was about ten," he answered after a moment. My eyebrows shot up. That was about the time... My gaze softened. As if he could sense my gaze, he scowled.

"I do not need your pity, you realize," he said roughly. Though less roughly than if it had been anyone else. I half-smiled.

"It wasn't pity," I replied. I could see his eyes to look at me. "Pity is for the pitiful. You are certainly not pitiful." Ciel gave a small smile at that. I smiled back at him, and we spent the next several moments in silence.

"Isn't the world so strange," I commented. Ciel turned to look at me.

"What do you mean?" He asked dryly.

"I mean, it can be so cruel and murderous. There are wars, and natural disasters, and bad people in the world. But it can also be so beautiful. There is kindness, and flowers, and the sky. How can those things coexist together?"

When we arrived in London, the streets were swarmed with people, as usual. Though, there seemed to be more people than usual. It was probably because of the quickly approaching Halloween season. My mood dimmed as I thought of Halloween, shaking my head, I forced myself to forget about it for now. Luckily, suppressing emotions happened to be my forte.

It was an unnaturally clear day for England, and you could actually see the sky for once. The clear blue shown down from the sky, letting the sun finally shine down upon the city. It was still cool though, and I needed my coat.

"Where is it that you can go to buy these 'African Violets'?" Ciel asked sardonically. I rolled my eyes at him.

"This way, there's an apothecary over there," I answered confidently. I had looked it up beforehand on Google Maps, because I knew I had no sense of direction, and I would get lost easily. Hell, even with a map I got lost easily.

Ciel followed me until we reached it, luckily not getting lost. I opened the door and walked in, a bell announcing my entrance. An older, Asian man looked up from behind a peeling, wood counter.

"May I help you?" He asked, smiling at me kindly. It was obvious that he didn't get many people in here. Then again, who would go in here besides crazy witch people?

"Yes," I replied, smiling back at him, "I was looking for some African Violets, please." He bowed his head slightly, before freezing, apparently catching sight of Ciel.

"Monster," he hissed at him. Ciel eyes widened in shock. I stared at the man, did he know what Ciel was?

"I'm sorry?" Ciel asked, affronted. But I could tell he was nervous underneath his guise. I was nervous for him, actually.

"Get out!" The man yelled. His hands moving too quickly for the eye to follow, he threw something at Ciel. Some of it got on me, but I didn't have much a reaction, besides a slight tingling feeling. Ciel, on the other hand, gave a feral-sounding hiss. My eyes widened at the sight in front of me. Ciel was recoiling from the man, his visible eye red, and his teeth were more elongated than usual.

His pupils contracted into slits, he started to stalk towards the man. Gasping, I reached out, and grabbed hold of his hand, before he could reach the old man.

"Ciel!" I ordered, a warning lacing my voice. "Go outside for a moment, please," I said in a gentler tone. Ciel tightened his jaw, before closing his eyes, and bowing his head. When he opened his visible eye, it was back to its normal sapphire blue. I relaxed, now knowing that he _wasn't_ about to murder someone. Thank God he actually _listened_ to me.

"If your not out in ten minutes, I _will_ come in here," Ciel murmured in my ear, as he walked past me. I shivered slightly at his words, at his... _protective_ instinct towards me.

After Ciel left, the door closing behind him with the sound of a bell. I turned to the frightened man behind the counter. He was still shaking, his eyes wide with fear.

"It's alright," I said softly, not wanting to startle him. He seemed to calm down, but still seemed suspicious of me. I didn't really blame him, if a demon from hell just walked into my store, I'd be at least a_ little_ worried. "Do you have any African Violets?" I asked in a normal tone, as if nothing had happened.

As if a string had been pulled, he immediately went over to a cabinet, and pulled out some dried looking flowers. He set them on the table, and started to bag them.

"Is that all you need?" He asked me. He still seemed suspicious of me, but there was also a look in his eyes of... pity?

"Yes," I answered quickly, not wanting to be here much longer. I would've usually liked to spend a lot of time in here, but the man kept warily looking at the door. I glanced towards the door. I could still see the outline of Ciel's head outside the door.

"Little miss," the man said, gripping my forearm. I jumped, startled at the motion. "You do not want to be around these creatures," he warned. "They will infect you with their darkness, take everything you have, and when they are done- get rid of you," he began speaking quicker, "Their world is not like ours, they revel in the shadows, while we are in the light. Run! Run as fast as you can!" My eyes were as wide as saucers through his entire speech. My back stiffened, and I unconsciously tightened my jaw.

"I'm afraid I can't, even if I wanted to," I said softly to him, both trying not to startle him, and to not let Ciel hear. Haha, like that would work. Ciel had the best hearing I have ever seen, second only maybe to Sebastian. That's why I tried to never listen to my music without headphones.

The man looked calculatingly at me for a moment, before releasing me, and continuing to ring up my purchase. I quietly paid for it, when he was down, and left, the bell signaling my exit.

"Nine minutes, forty seconds," Ciel said casually. I turned my head to see him leaning against the brick wall.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"How long you were in there," he said bluntly. I smiled slightly, at his unorthodox show of affection. Walking towards him, we started walking side by side, my bag in my hand.

"What was it that he sprayed on you?" I asked curiously. What could have possibly made Ciel react like that? Ciel was silent for a moment, and when I looked at his face, it held a slightly distraught expression.

"Holy water," he said shortly, after a moment. My eyebrows shot up. Why did the man even have that? It wasn't like people went around, carrying holy water on them at all times. He must have had a lot of supernatural visitors... He should probably consider going into a different profession if he came into contact with demons a lot.

"Are you okay?" I asked concernedly. I know that Ciel's an all-powerful-being, but I still wanted to make sure that he was okay.

"I'm fine," Ciel said, brushing it off. I wanted to absolutely make sure, but I didn't want to annoy him (for the first time in forever), so I refrained from asking again.

"Are there any ways to kill a demon?" I asked. It was partially out of curiosity, but mainly out of wanting to know if there was a way to protect myself from Claude. Admittedly, even though I may be a psychic, I'm still human. I probably couldn't hurt him, let alone kill him. Ciel's jaw tightened.

"There are..." He answered cautiously.

"What are they?" I asked eagerly, my attention snapping to him.

"I can't tell you," Ciel answered stiffly. I shrunk down, my excitement deflated. I could understand why he wouldn't want to tell me, after all. But I wouldn't hurt him, or any of them! I couldn't, even if I wanted to. _...He may just be trying to stop _others_ from finding out, through you..._ I was slightly mollified by this thought, and was cheered up almost immediately.

"Where to?" I asked. That was the only place I had needed to go, but I didn't quite want to go back to the manor. If I was honest with myself, I was just procrastinating. We didn't have long until Halloween, and I wanted to make the most of it. It was selfish of me, I know, but I wanted it anyway.

"Where do you want to go?" Ciel asked, looking at me through the corner of his eye.

"Hmm..." I thought about it for a moment. "Book store?" Ciel rolled his eyes, expecting that answer.

"Of course," he said smoothly. Grinning at him, I took his hand in my free hand.

"And Ciel?" I started, grinning devilishly. He glanced at me.

"Yes?" He asked.

"I managed to buy something. Suck it!" I cheered at him. Ciel rolled his eyes at me, before reaching his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. I laughed quietly to myself, before taking my hand out of his, and running towards the bookstore.

I was laying in my bed in my tank top and pajama shorts, sprawled out like a starfish, reading Servants of the Storm. I had gotten it at the book store and apparently it was pretty new. Plus, it was a horror book; so of course I had to read it. I had been reading it for about three hours straight, and I was on the second to last page. This book was terrifying, and strangely addictive.

My eyes stared unwaveringly at the page, determined to find out what was going to happen. But there wasn't enough room for everything that needed to happen, to happen! Uggg... One of the major dilemmas of a book worm.

As I was on the second to last sentence, I stood up to put the book away, convinced that nothing more was going to happen. As I read the last sentence, my eyes widened in shock, and the book dropped through my hands.

"What!" I yelled into my room. I stared, unseeing, at my hands. What the actual HELL just happened? Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Picking up the book, I threw it as hard as I could across the room. It slammed into the wall, and it fell to the floor, a few of its pages fluttering with the force of my throw.

"YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT!" I screamed. "GO TO HELL!" Okay... That book won the award for 'most surprising cliffhanger'. That just beat Mark of Athena, I didn't know that was even possible. Why do I read? I always end up emotionally ruined at the end of it? Thanks a lot, stupid book... It's not like I needed my heart, anyway...

The door to my room slammed open, revealing Ciel standing in the entrance. He looked slightly worried at the tantrum, I was throwing, but not nearly as concerned as he would have been, had he not known me. He was used to me throwing fits over books by now. And movies. And shows. And Manga.

Unprepared for his startling entrance, I yelped, and threw myself under my bed. My heart fluttered, as I heard deliberate footsteps coming toward the bed, stopping at my hiding spot. Ciel bent down, pulling up the fabric that was covering the space underneath the bed.

"What are you doing?" Ciel asked, arching an eyebrow. My eyebrows drew together, and I scowled slightly, before getting up from under the bed.

"I just read a very, very scarring book about demons, okay?" I huffed, dusting myself off. I normally would have been embarrassed of being in front of him in these _specific_ pajamas, since they didn't exactly cover a lot. It wasn't that I was trying to impress anyone, it was simply because I was really warm, and I hate the heat with a passion. Cold, I could take, but not heat. If it was Summer, you will always find me in the shade. Ciel's eyebrow arched even higher, and his gaze slid to the book behind me. My eyes widened a fraction, processing what he was about to do.

"Oh, no you don't!" I exclaimed, throwing myself toward the book, and hugging it to my chest. Ciel will never read this book as long as I live!

Raising an eyebrow, Ciel walked towards me with a smirk. Without thinking, I stuffed the book down my shirt, and hugged my knees to my chest. Ciel tilted his head, smirking devilishly at me. I gulped. _Uh oh. _

Thinking (or maybe not) quickly, I attempted to run across the room, away from him. Before I could get five feet, Ciel tackled me, and I was pushed onto my bed. I was laying flat on my back, my arms crossed in front of my chest, hugging the book to me. Ciel was supporting himself, with his hands on either side of me.

"Would you rather I get the book, or you?" Ciel asked lazily, his gaze trailing to where I had hidden my book. I gulped slightly, understanding his trail of thought. I scowled, blushing slightly, and took the book out from under my shirt. He took it almost immediately from me. Standing up, he read the summary on the back, while I situated myself on my bed, so that I was sitting up. After he read the summary, he grinned devilishly at me, arching an eyebrow.

"Stop looking at me like that!" I exclaimed. It wasn't like I reading Fifty Shades of Grey! It was completely appropriate. He chuckled at me, as if he could read my thoughts. _Could he?_ I almost immediately dismissed the thought from my mind. If Ciel could read my mind, he probably would have murdered me a long time ago. So would most people actually... I have a knack for irritating people. I'm just special that way.

I squirmed under his gaze, crossing my legs, and crossing my arms over my chest.

"You look adorable when you're uncomfortable," Ciel commented laughingly. I scowled at him, a light blush staining my cheeks.

"I will kill you, you do realize that?" I demanded. I scowled at him, while uncrossing my legs. Ciel merely smirked at me, before darting towards me, and stealing a kiss. I gasped, my eyes widening, as I realized that he was kissing me. He smirked against my lips, and wrapped his arms around me, pushing me flush up against him.

I made a small noise of protest; but as Ciel deepened the kiss, I melted into him. Why did he always do this to me? I could no longer think straight, the only thing I could think of being Ciel.

When he finally let go, he had to hold on to me, because I could no longer support myself. I was dazed, and my eyes were half lidded.

"Why do you always do this to me?" I whispered, my gaze glassy. I could see Ciel smile softly above me, but I was suddenly exhausted. Slipping out of his grasp, I got under the covers in my bed. As Ciel turned to leave, I grabbed hold of this arm. "Stay with me?" I asked, looking up at him with big eyes. They were hardly necessary, because he almost immediately slid into bed beside me. Sighing contentedly, I wrapped my arms around him and fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hiya! Hope you had a Merry Christmas! (Or if you don't celebrate Christmas, day off in the middle of Winter!)~~ Anyway, I know I haven't updated in a while, but I kind of lost interest for a while. But I'm back! This is bit of a filler chapter, since I wanted some fluff before the storm. And I've planned it out, and I think I only have about five chapters left until this fic is over. (If all goes according to plan). Oh, I also posted a new story called The Storm of the Stars! It's only two chapters so far, so if you read and review it, that would be fantastic!

Speaking of fantastic, I got a sonic screwdriver for Christmas! I also got a Camp Half-Blood T-shirt from my 24-year-old cousin. Thanks Allie!

**PLEASE READ! Okay, so I was wanting to do this thing where all of you try to guess my age. To do it, just leave a review, guessing my age, and at the end of the fic, I'll tell you if you're right. Please do so; I want to see what age you think I am.**

Reviews~~:

Guest: I updated! I'm so glad that you think this is the best CielXOC fic. Aww... *blushes*

Guest: I agree, but I don't know. I kind of like making her embarrassed. o_O. I'm just strange like that...

YinxShroudForever: I'm so glad that you like it! Aww! Thank you so much! I don't really think my writing is that fantastic, but thank you so much! XD

TheBillionthRandomMonkey: Hahaha! I'm glad you noticed. Whenever I notice something in a fic, I just go 'I NOTICED, I NOTICED. MUHAHAHA, YOU CAN'T KEEP IT FROM ME!' And I thought that old habits died hard, and I figured Ciel would still keep a gun under his pillow, even with his super awesome demon powers. (That's the technical term).

Darkshadow400: I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, I thought it was about damn time for Ciel to figure it out. For a demon, he's surprisingly stupid...

Sakemori: Come at me girlie. *Motions towards myself* I have Sebastian. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter! (I'm super sorry I didn't update quickly... Don't kill me!)

Esmereilda: I'm so glad you like the fluff! It makes me happy to know that it's actually acceptable! It is like he's killing her with love, actually...

Foreveradreamerinlife: Yay! I'm glad you like them together!

Any suggestions for scenes in further chapters, comments, concerns would be appreciated. And there is a chance that I may include your scene...

Please R&amp;R!


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

I slowly drifted out of the warm comfort of sleep, awaking into the non-dreaming world. The golden sunlight shined into my room, through the curtains, slowly waking me up. When I opened my eyes, I wasn't fully functional, but there was a feeling of dread, deep in the pit of my stomach. I furrowed my brow. _Why do I feel so anxious...?_ I struggled to remember, when it hit me. Today was Halloween. Today was the beginning of doomsday. Also known as, the day I was born. Yay.

Slipping my feet out of the comfortable warmth that was my bed, I placed my one, feeling foot the cold ground. The cold autumn air had somehow gotten inside the manor, and my room was exceedingly cold. I smiled slightly, the temperature definitely fit my mood.

Instead of feeling anxious, or scared, I felt nothing at all. I grimaced slightly to myself, as I limped my way to the bathroom. This is what happened to me, whenever I knew something bad was going to happen. It was as if an emotional cocoon had wrapped itself around me, shielding me from the world.

I got dressed in dark skinny jeans, and a black lacy top. I didn't usually dress 'fancily', but it fit my mood today. Sighing, I put my hair up in a messy bun, just to get it completely out of my way. Walking back into my room, I slipped my iPod into my pocket, and made my way to Ciel's study.

I hesitated outside the door, before walking in without knocking. I grinned a little to myself- at least that was staying the same today. Can't say that about much else. Ciel raised an eyebrow at me when he saw my clothing.

"Dressed for the occasion, are we?" Ciel asked dryly. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Oh, shut up," I retorted, closing the door behind me. "Sooo..." After a moment of silence between us, Ciel began again.

"Sebastian and I, thought it would be best for you to stay in the music room, and we'll place shields outside of it. Nobody will be able to get in, or out, until morning," Ciel explained. I nodded my head. We had already agreed that Claude wouldn't come during the day, as he's stronger at night.

"Will I just have to stay in there, after dark?" I asked, wanting to make sure. I didn't want to spend all of my very, very sucky birthday, trapped in a room. Yes, I know I sound selfish- but this was my first birthday without my parents. Add that, to it is Halloween, and you don't have a very good day for me. Ciel nodded in assurance.

"Yes, you should be safe when the sun is up. Halloween, for us, starts the moment the sun goes down," Ciel answered. I nodded, biting my lip nervously, unaware that Ciel was watching it intently. I suppose that made sense, but what did demons being stronger entail? I looked up at the sound of Ciel's chair scraping across the floor, as he stood up.

As he slowly sauntered towards me, I couldn't find it in me to move an inch. I was captivated by the look on his face. He had a predatory expression on his face, making it obvious how futile it would be for me to run- not that I wanted to. When he finally got to me, so close that our chests were touching, he bent down to whisper in my ear.

"You may want to avoid me today, Thea," Ciel whispered against me, "It is not just our power that is increased... Every aspect of what makes a demon, a demon is increased..." He trailed off, as if to make a point, and stared at my lips. My eyes widened, and I couldn't help the shiver that wracked my body. As if to prove his point, or further his claim, his eyes flashed red. I shivered at the sight, before pulling him down to crash my lips against his.

Ciel jolted slightly at my unexpected touch, but took control almost immediately. He attacked my mouth, making my lips bruised and red. I hummed in approval. My eyelids slowly started lowering, until my eyes were half lidded. I stared at Ciel's eye patch. Why did he wear it, even when no one was there? Reaching up a hand, I undid the tie, and let the black fabric slip to the ground. I felt strangely lethargic, as if I had been sleeping for a hundred years, and I just woke up.

Ciel froze when the eye patch was gone, but soon continued where he left off. Parting my mouth, I gave him permission, and he took it. My lips were swollen and red, but I couldn't find it in me to care. I felt myself getting swept away with every minute, the only thing holding me to the Earth, being Ciel. My hands wove themselves in his hair, tugging and pulling on it.

Abruptly, Ciel slammed his hands against his desk on either side of me, so I was pinned. I panted, trying to regain my lost breath.

"Thea," he growled, "I do not have a lot of self control right now, and you are not helping that. I suggest _not_ doing that, unless you are prepared to face the consequences." As he spoke, he looked up at me, his eyes a kaleidoscope of emotions. His eyes were dark with want, but there was also something else... Something that was only directed towards me. It seemed like it was... tenderness?

A smile gracing my lips, I leaned upward to kiss him gently on the forehead. "I know, I'm sorry," I whispered. Ciel slowly straightened up, allowing me out of his grasp. I smiled at him, brushing my hand against his cheek, before leaving, shutting the door behind me. When the door shut with a soft click, I smiled to myself, and made my way to the library.

When I arrived there, there was a feeling of peace and quiet inside. I took a deep breath, letting the scent of book pages, and binding settle in my lungs. I always loved the smell of books. Making my way to my usual chair, I paused when I passed the entrance to the hidden portion of the library. Should I risk going back in?

I ran my fingers over the spot that I _thought_ opened the door. Pressing down, it confirmed my beliefs by opening. As I stared into the darkness, I was torn. Should I go, or should I stay? I probably won't be murdered if I stay, but what if there's something down there that could help? Making up my mind, I stepped into the passageways, the torches automatically lighting once again. This time, I didn't stop to take one, knowing that they went all the way to the end.

The darkness was pressing in on all sides, making my skin crawl. I wasn't particularly afraid of the dark, but being in a small enclosed place, like this, and it being dark, didn't do anything for me. All I could think about was how easy it would be for a murderer to be hiding in the dark. Yay, cheerful thoughts.

I hurried down the dark hallway, seeming like it would never end. I breathed a sigh of relief, when I finally reached the hidden library. Creaking open the door, I stepped in, and closed the door behind me. With the light from a torch inside the room, I took a moment to really examine the room. The room was about the same size of Ciel's study, but there were no identifying features to show as to who used it. _Whoever it was_, I thought, _they definitely knew about the supernatural. _All of the books in here were about supernatural creatures- not limited to demons. There were books on grim reapers, ghosts, poltergeists, faeries- anything you could imagine.

I searched the shelves for any books that may help defend against demons, but I couldn't find any. There were a couple that looked promising, but after a quick search, they showed nothing of value. All they told were stories of demons interfering in history. (Sebastian made history). Now that I think about it... is Slenderman a demon? I shuddered at the thought, and went back to my searching.

After several more minutes searching, I found a book titled, How to Protect Yourself from Magical Creatures. _Surely, this has something about demons..._ I opened the book and flipped to the index to see if they had anything on demons. They did! Flipping to the page, I read intently, until my neck started to ache.

"Oh, screw it." I slammed the book down on the desk. There was nothing useful- nothing! All it gave were ways to 'ward off demons'. I can't flipping ward off demons when I live in a manor full of them- and I regularly kiss another! Besides, most of them probably wouldn't work. For example- Iron wards off demons. I have seen all three- Sebastian, Ciel, and Alois- all use iron in various ways. Stupid full of shit book... The only thing that was actually useful- and proved to work- was holy water. I should have asked the man in the shop for some...

Cracking my neck, I got ready to leave, before I heard footsteps in the corridor. Freezing, I did the thing any logical person would do. I did under the desk. My knees to my chest, and my neck bent at an awkward angle, I managed to hide under the desk, right before the door opened. I don't know why, but I had an uneasy feeling. I didn't think that it was Ciel or Sebastian...

I tried to quiet my breathing, which was especially difficult, since my heart was racing. The man- or at least, I thought it was a man- rustled some papers above me, on the desk. He couldn't see me, because the opening of the desk was facing the wall, so he wouldn't be able to see me, unless he sat in the desk chair.

After another moment, I heard him chuckle, before hearing the door creak open, and his footsteps fade away. I stayed under the desk for another, good ten minutes. I was terrified out of my wits, and was shocked by how lucky I had been. There was absolutely no way that had been Ciel or Sebastian. No flipping way.

Slowly peeking my head from behind the desk, I was greeted with the sight of an empty room. Sighing with relief, I stood up quietly, and silently crept out of the room. I breathed a sigh of relief when I reached the end of the passage. _Thank you_, I thought to myself. I closed the hidden door, my imagination making me think that I saw a figure in the darkness. I shivered to myself, once again in a 'completely normal' library.

Relaxing, I took a step backwards, to get away from the hidden annex, and bumped into someone's chest.

"Aiie!" I yelped, spinning on my heel. It was only Sebastian. He was looking down at me with a raised eyebrow. Putting a hand to my heart, I glared at Sebastian. "God, Sebastian- you terrified me!" Sebastian's eyebrow arched even higher than before.

"What are you doing?" Sebastian asked, wildly confused. I calmed down slightly.

"I went into the hidden library- to find some books to help me- and I heard people down there," I explained urgently. Sebastian adopted a half confused, and half concerned expression.

"Miss Thea," he said slowly, "There's nothing down there." My eyes widened. What was he talking about? Of course there was! I had seen it! How could he live here for over a couple hundred years, and not know there was a hidden annex. I've only been here for a few months, and I found it.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded, "I've been in it twice, I didn't just imagine it!" Sebastian's face showed that he didn't quite believe me... In fact, he was looking at me like I was about to explode. "I'm not lying!" I shouted. The door to the library opened to reveal Ciel, most likely attracted my the sound of me shouting.

"Thea..." Sebastian began.

"I can prove it!" I said desperately. I pressed my thumb into the spot that opened the door. Nothing happened. My eyes widened, and my smile faded, to be replaced by a look filled with anxiety. "What?" I asked myself in disbelief. "I was just in it, this worked!"

Ciel came up behind me. "Thea, are you sure it isn't possible you just saw it in a vision, or something?" Ciel asked. My eyes got dangerously bright.

"Look!" I said, grabbing hold of the spell book, that I had used to get rid of Claude's half mark. I had left it in the library, since I was too afraid to go back to the hidden one. Apparently, for good reason. "I got this from in there, this isn't from in here. You of all people should know that, Sebastian." I said, looking pointedly, "You know every book in this library, tell me, did it come from in here?" Sebastian tilted his head, hid hand coming up to rest his chin on.

"I don't believe it did," Sebastian said slowly. I grinned like a maniac, making the others question my mental health.

"See!" I exclaimed. "I told-"

"Thea!" I turned to face Ciel. "It's alright, we believe you," he said calmly. I made a shocked sound in the back of my throat. Suddenly lethargic, I dropped the book on the ground, and practically fell into a chair behind me.

"Sorry," I apologized quietly, after a moment of silence. I was embarrassed, I always did get defensive about whether or not someone believed me. It stemmed mainly from my ability to 'foretell' things.

After a moment, I felt Ciel coming up to me, and I looked up. I shrunk down out of instinct, kicking my feet back and forth. He bent down, lifting my chin with his forefinger.

"It's all right," Ciel reassured, making me look at him. There was something calming about his eyes, something that made me never want to stop staring at them. His eye patch was still gone from this morning, a fact that made me inordinately happy.

"Okay," I said quietly. I could vaguely see Sebastian smirking in the background, but I ignored it. I didn't care at the moment. "Sorry," I apologized guiltily. Ciel rolled his eyes at me.

"Young master," Sebastian began, "She is telling the truth. There is a passageway behind this wall." Sebastian was putting his ear on the wood, and knocking on it. I smirked to myself. _Told you..._ Ciel was extremely confused.

"How could that have been here, and we not know it?" Ciel demanded, "You built the manor yourself!" My eyes widened at that last statement. Sebastian _built_ the manor? Is there anything at _all_ that Sebastian cannot do perfectly? Doubtful...

"I did not build this," Sebastian said still listening to the wood, "It seems somebody else did... But the odd thing is, I cannot sense any people in it." He turned to face me. "Are you sure you heard someone in there?" Sebastian asked.

"Yes," I answered, nodding vigorously, "I had to hide under a desk, because I heard someone in the corridor, and they came in the room. It was a man, though, I could tell because at one point he laughed." Sebastian nodded, lost in thought.

"Young master," Sebastian started. Ciel looked at him. "If there are people roaming about the manor, we may have to put Miss Thea under protection earlier than we had planned..." Ciel nodded, giving his assent. My heart sank, I wasn't especially fond of the idea of being separated from them. My jaw tightened unconsciously, before I nodded at them.

/

Ciel and I were outside the music room. It was about three o'clock, so I had a lot of time between now and dawn. I had a bag full of things that I had collected- including my iPod and earbuds, to drown out any sound that I may hear. Ciel had been the one who had suggested it, and I took his advice.

"Okay," I said, "How will this work?" I admit, I had no idea what they were going to do.

"We're going to put a protection shield on the outside," Ciel explained, "So no one will be able to get in, and you won't be able to get out." My eyebrows shot up. Why was that necessary? Seeing the expression on my face, Ciel hastened to explain, "This is so if someone is threatening me, or anyone else, you won't be able to get out." I stiffened, my jaw tightening. I opened my mouth to retort, but Ciel shushed me. "_And_," he continued, staring at me importantly, "there is a very high chance that someone will come to the door, pretending to be me, and I want you to be safe." I was slightly mollified by this fact, but the fact remained that I would not be happy with being the cause of my friends' deaths.

"I'm not happy with this," I answered grudgingly. Ciel smirked slightly, his eyes going against his facial expression.

"I know," Ciel said.

"Is there anyway to reverse the shield?" I asked- out of curiosity, and wanting to know how likely I was to die. Because, let's be honest, if anyone got in the music room with me, I would die. I have literally nothing to help me against demons from hell. Ciel smirked.

"It would take my blood, and the correct incantation to reverse it. I doubt they will get either one easily," Ciel said, "The spell will naturally break at dawn." I nodded, thinking to myself distractedly, only looking up when Ciel reached up, to twirl the hair that had fallen out of my bun. Smiling to myself, I darted up, and stole a kiss. Ciel jolted, surprised, and he didn't have time to get used to it, before I was gone.

"Now," I said, as business like as I could manage, "I expect to see you tomorrow, unharmed." Ciel smiled at me.

"Agreed," Ciel said, "I expect to see you uninjured, though that may be difficult with your personality." Faking a shocked expression, I hit him lightly on the shoulder.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I said, after a moment of silence between us. I didn't want to be locked in the music room, and I don't think Ciel did either. Turning around, I entered the room, closing the door behind me. The room was quiet. Deathly quiet.

I tried reading one of my books that I brought with me for several hours, but the quiet was too intense. I used to like the quiet a lot, I still do. But the quiet meant that I had to be with my thoughts. That's why after Orion died, I dived into reading. I had always liked reading, but that's what really sparked it. I didn't want to be around people, but I didn't want to be left alone either. It was the perfect solution to me.

Before getting up, I checked the time on iPod. It was almost seven o'clock. The time had flown faster than I had thought- a fact that made me nervous. Pressing my ear to the wall, I listened to see if I could hear anything, but I was greeted with silence. I swallowed thickly. I didn't know whether the silence was a good thing, or a bad thing. Hopefully a good thing.

Getting up, I steered well away from all the stringed instruments, not wanting to break something when no one else was here. I sat down at the piano, and lifted the lid covering the keys. I was in a grim mood, that was obvious. I wanted music that fit my mood. I let my fingers trail over the keys, until an idea sparked in the back of my mind. Pressing my fingers to the keys, I played a song that I had found, that had absolutely terrified me.

Clearing my throat, I began to sing:

"_The first Alice was a wrathful woman of the spade.  
And righteously she held a sharpened blade within her hand.  
Never hesitating to slay all within her way._"_  
_"_Creating paths of blood that followed her through Wonderland.  
Deep into the darkened forest, Alice walked the line.  
Captured and imprisoned as an embodiment of Sin.  
If it were not for the murderous wake left behind.  
No one would have suspected that she had ever been._"

"_The second Alice was a fragile man of the diamond.  
The broken echo of the lies within demented words.  
He sang his twisted melodies to all in Wonderland.  
Creating the image of the sick and the disturbed.  
_"_Deadly, yet so beautiful a voice just like a rose.  
Was shot by a madman who silenced him to death.  
A single rose bloomed in his place with no music composed.  
With twisted grin this dying man lay breathing his last breath._"

"_The third Alice was an innocent young girl of club.  
An enchanting, graceful figure in the world of Wonderland.  
She charmed the people in the land to her beck and call.  
A peculiar country answering to each command."  
"So she rose into the throne to be the country's queen.  
Consumed by paranoia of her own impending death.  
Soon the queen succumbed to a dark and nightmarish dream.  
Disguised in kindness, loathing fate, she secured her regime."_

_ "And as this past two children walked in the woods.  
Partaking in tea underneath the trees they'd never part.  
They found an invitation to the queen.  
It was the Ace of Hearts."_

_ "The fourth Alice was a duo of curiosity.  
Both were lost and could not find the boat where they began.  
And so they ran through countless open doors so recklessly.  
A brother and a sister running wild through Wonderland."  
"A stubborn elder sister.  
A witty younger brother."  
But they had strayed too far into Alice's Wonderland._"

"They were never woken from their terrifying dream.  
Forever they would wander this twisted fairytale!"

I took a deep breath after singing, letting the music trail off into silence. Now that I had stopped playing, I could hear the faint sound of crashing, and shouts in the manor. They were far away from me, but I was worried nonetheless. Was Ciel alright? Were the others uninjured? I hated being trapped like this, not being able to do anything. _But,_ I thought wryly,_ even if I were out there, I wouldn't be able to do anything..._ One of the many disadvantages of being human.

The sounds were getting closer, and I started a new song to drown out the noise. It wasn't a particularly cheerful song, but it would have to do. I wasn't able to play anything cheerful at the moment. If I tried, I think I would burst into flames. Swallowing, I started to play.

_"Ding Dong hurry up I'm waiting_

_Far too late to run  
Away to see if I can catch you  
Ding Dong hurry up I'm starving  
Waiting for you here  
I know that you are near so come out."_

"_Staring through the window  
No escape from my cold gaze now  
Tearing through your eyelids  
Creeping close to see you nearer..._"

"_Ding Dong hurry up and run now  
So that we can play  
Tag on this special day of fun now  
Ding Dong hurry up I'm in now  
Better run and hide  
So I can never find you peeking._"

"_Thumping down the hallway,  
Footsteps on an old wood floor board.  
Breathing in a whisper,  
I can hear it getting closer!_"

"_No, No You can never hide,  
I can see you there._"_  
_"_No, No You can never hide,  
I can see your hair._"_  
_"_No, No You can never hide,  
I can see you're scared._"_  
_"_No, No You can never hide._"

"_Knock, Knock I'm affront your bedroom  
And I'm coming in,  
Don't need a key or pin to help me.  
Knock, Knock I'm inside your bedroom,  
Cant see where you've hid,  
But worry not, the game is ending_."

"_Look under the bed sheets,  
Clever boy to keep me guessing.  
Cannot find a body,  
But I haven't checked the closet!_"

"_Ding Dong Here you are and..._"_  
_"_Ding Dong I have won this game,  
Now it's your turn._"_  
_"_Ding Dong I have won this game,  
Now it's your turn._"_  
_"_Ding Dong I have won this game,  
Now it's your turn._"_  
_"_Ding Dong It was such a shame..._"

"_Ding Dong You can never hide,  
No one else is left,  
Ding Dong This is my goodbye..._"

Unbeknownst to me, sometime during the song, an extra pair of hands was playing piano with me. As I was finishing up the song, I reached to hit a key, when I finally noticed.

Gasping, I jumped up from my seat to see Claude sitting next to me. _How did he get in? And without me noticing?_ Ciel said the only way for someone to get in, was to use his blood, and recite the correct incantation. _Oh God... What happened to Ciel? _All thoughts flew from my head, as Claude got up to stand in front of me. I gulped, now noticing how very much taller he was than me.

"How did you get in here?" I demanded him, my fists clenched at my sides. Claude smirked at me.

"Let's just say I had some... _friends_ who are rather skilled in enchantments and demons," Claude answered, taking a step towards me. I immediately took a step backwards, not wanting to be any closer to him than I had to. Suddenly, I was overcome with a feeling of dizziness and nausea. My back hit the wall, and I started to slide down towards the ground.

"What did you do to me?" I whispered. My eyelids suddenly felt very heavy, and it seemed like too much effort to keep them open. I heard Claude chuckle from above me, before bending down to take my face in his hand. He forcibly moved my head to face him, and I couldn't find the energy to fight him.

"Mine." The last sight I saw were fuchsia colored, cat slit eyes, before everything went black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi~! *Throws chapter at you* Here you go! Hope you liked the chapter, I think this is the longest chapter I've written for this fic. Yay~ Stuff happens! I told you there was a plot. Oh, and the last chapter got the most reviews ever, so I would like to thank everyone for reviewing! FYI, the first song was Alice Human Sacrifice- Rockleetist, and the second was Hide and Seek- JudyPhonic

Reviews (Yay~!):

Alpha922001: That was the absolute sweetest thing I have ever read! You made my day, thank you so much! I'm so glad you like my writing. (And I always read all my reviews, don't worry). Thank you so much for your lovely review!

Mazerunnerfreak: Ta-da! (Hope you liked it!)

DesirableDreams: No, Servants of the Storm isn't a Seven Sands book, it's a single (so far) book that came out this summer by Alison A. Dawson. You should read it, it's amazing. (And yes, it's real). If you want some more book suggestions, I would be happy to PM you, and give you some. ;)

Darkshadow400: I know, they usually do forget that demons have weaknesses (no matter how small). I'm glad you liked the chapter, and Thea's fit over the book. (I do it too, don't worry).

Lyraika: It did beat it, I thought it was impossible, but Servants of the Storm, beat it. Rick Riordan is a bastard. (I love Nico too!) And, Daughter of Athena at your service, milady!

Killerdawgrox: Glad you liked it!

Awesomealixe: I'm glad you missed me! (So sorry about being gone so long.. again...) And yeah, only five (now four), if all goes as planned. But don't worry, they will be super action packed, and I have the best ending ever planned out.. (I may be biased...) I'm glad you like it!

Linneafox: I'm glad you like it, and your answer has been noted. ;) *Hugz*

Indigobluebutterfly: Yay~! (I agree with you on Ciel, Thea is lucky). Your answer has been noted... *Hugz*

Bethawes: Yay~! I'm glad you like it! It's good to know that people like reading this. I'm glad you like the fluff, and it didn't suck completely. Your answer has been noted, *Hugz*

foreveradreamerinlife: I know, I do the same thing. So sorry I've been gone...

Zelda-chan: Your answer has been noted *Hugz*

CyanRubies: I'm glad you like CielXThea!

Sakemori: Hey, that means you're Sebastian's sister! (I always had this theory that Sebastian was one of the princes of hell. I don't know why). Your answer has been noted... *Hugz aggressively*

Esmereilda: I'm glad you liked the fluffy Ciel! No, I agree, don't hide under the bed. Hid under a blanket instead! (Murderers can't get you that way!)

YinxShroudForever: Glad you like it!

Please R&amp;R


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

My eyelashes fluttered as I slowly awakened. I was incredibly drowsy, and I couldn't recall why. Stretching like a cat, I opened my eyes to see that I was in an unfamiliar room. Bolting up, I looked wildly around the room. This was not my room…

The room that I was in, was painted a violet color, with gold accents. I looked down, to see that I was in an unfamiliar bed with a dark purple comforter and black, silk sheets. The room was mostly bare, though there was a desk with a chair pushed up against the wall. There was a large window, that took up most of the room, that let in the late morning sunlight. Judging by the sun, it was about noon- but I couldn't be certain.

As I struggled to recall what had happened, I remembered the events of the previous night. Claude. As if he could read my thoughts, Claude entered the room.

When he did, I immediately scrambled away as far as I could on the bed. Seeing my reaction, he arched an eyebrow at me, and I noticed that he was holding a breakfast tray. When he walked in, I realized that I wasn't wearing my prosthetic. Looking up, I glared at him.

"Where is my leg?" I demanded angrily. Claude arched an eyebrow at me, a smirk tugging his lips, as he set down the tray on a table beside him. I gulped, now realizing that it wasn't particularly smart to taunt the psychopath. _Brilliant, Thea, absolutely brilliant. _This is why I hated myself, sometimes.

"It's here," Claude answered carelessly, tossing it to me from one of the corners of the room. Catching it quickly, reattached it, not daring to look away from him, for fear of what he would do. Once I got straightened up, Claude smirked at my antics. He chuckled slightly, as if there was something that he knew, that I didn't.

"Where am I?" I demanded. Again, maybe not the smartest idea. Then again, since when have I had _any_ survival instinct? Claude took a step forward, and I immediately looked down. _Deep breath._

"That is none of your concern, after all," Claude said, leering, "There is no reason for you to leave." I looked downwards in fury, only to notice that I was dressed in an unfamiliar, black nightgown. A rather… low cut, lacy nightgown. I froze; oh shit. Looking up, my eyes were as wide as saucers.

"Who changed me?" I asked him, my voice sounding eerie to my ears. _Please say someone else, please say someone else…_ I was a fairly modest person, especially in my day in age, where it was acceptable to have sex at age 16, and wear clothing that left nothing to the imagination. I didn't wear revealing clothing, choosing instead to wear jeans and t-shirts. I didn't flaunt everything I had. Claude arched an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Something wrong?" He inquired, smirking. I glared at him, panic beginning to tightly grip my chest.

"Yes! Something is very wrong!" I exclaimed, angrily, "Who. Changed. Me?" Claude moved closer, nearly touching the bed. I froze, my silvery blue eyes wide with sudden dread. Seeing my reaction, he smirked. Pulling me towards him, Claude bent over me, holding me to him.

"Does it really matter?" He asked smoothly, his breath hitting the sensitive spot on my neck. He nipped at the skin, and I shuddered. _Please… Just go away… _He didn't, he continued to nip at my neck, forcibly holding me against him. He had me pinned against him, so that my arms were pinned between us, and I couldn't move away.

"Fuck off!" I yelled, squirming, and trying to get away from him. "And yes, it does matter, asshole!" Claude chuckled against my neck, and rolled over, so I was straddling his hips.

"Such language, for a young lady," Claude said, condescendingly. A flush stained my cheeks at our position. I scowled at his comment. I'm not a lady; a lady is a weak, useless being, who can't do anything on her own. I can take care of myself, and I can survive on my own.

"I'm not a lady," I growled, the flush ruining it. Claude smirked up at me, and doesn't hesitate to flip us over, so he was straddling me. My arms were spread out at my sides.

"Then tell me," he murmured, leaning down, so his onyx hair was brushing my collarbone, "Are you a virgin?" As he asked the question, he started to suck on my neck, leaving a red mark behind. I made a shocked noise in the back of my throat. What. The. Hell. I didn't even want to know _why_ he asked that question. What did he think?

"Which answer keeps me that way?" I hissed back at him. Claude smirked against me.

"Oooh, good answer," he retorted. Without waiting for an answer, he took my wrists, and pinned my arms above my head with one of his hands. Using his teeth, he bit the fabric of the glove on his free hand, and slowly took it off, all the while staring into my eyes. I tensed, I had seen Sebastian do this many times before- why, I don't know. But the action had never made me this anxious before.

Carelessly tossing the white glove to the floor, he grazed his fingers across my cheek. Slowly, his black fingernail trailed its way down to the spot where he had temporarily marked me.

"Pity it's gone…" Claude commented, almost regretfully. "Ah well, I don't need to mark you for what I have planned." I froze, and as if he needed to make his intentions, even more clear, he started to trail his hand down my sides. My breath hitched, and my body refused to cooperate with me. That is, until he tugged my nightgown up a few inches, revealing more of my leg.

"No!" I shouted, struggling against him as hard as I possibly could. I thrashed wildly under him. I didn't manage to do anything to buck him off of me, but I tried my hardest. "Please! Stop, please don't! I'll do anything!" Claude paused at that.

"Anything?" He inquired, arching an eyebrow. My eyes were wide with unshed tears.

"Yes…" I breathed quietly. Smirking, Claude got off of me, standing up, and he held out his hand for me to take. Glaring the hand, and taking note of Claude's smirking face, I reluctantly took his hand. Once he had pulled me to a standing position, I looked downwards, glaring at my feet. Of course, my feet hadn't done anything, I was just trying to avoid looking up at Claude.

He chuckled from above me, and I refused to look up at him. Seeing my refusal, he reached up a hand, and lifted my chin with it. I didn't fight too much, not wanting to get on his bad side. _Though, I doubt he has a good side… _More like a bad side, and a _very_ bad side.

"And," he said, leaning nearer to me, "To answer your question, no- I did not." I breathed out a sigh of relief, at least having that. Smirking at me, Claude turned around, and started walking toward the door. When he finally left, I breathed a sigh of relief; he was gone.

Sighing, my eyes were drawn to the small pile of clothing on the vanity against the wall. I assumed I was supposed to get dressed in it, though he didn't say anything. Besides, it wasn't as if I was going to wear my whorish nightgown all day. I may be a fan of pajamas, but not that much. Picking up the dress on top, I held it up to me, and froze.

"Pervert." The dress barely came up to mid thigh, and it was backless. Thankfully, it didn't look like it was too low cut. Thank God for that. _That's ironic…_ I'm in a demon's home, and praying to God- which I didn't really believe in, in the first place. Fantastic, this just keeps getting better and better.

Groaning aloud to the room, I quickly put on the dress, afraid that someone would come in. Looking in the mirror, I gazed at my reflection. My hair was a mess, from having been attacked, and sleeping all night. There were circles under my eyes from tiredness. I lowered my gaze to the floor, as I remembered last night. _Oh my God… is Ciel okay?_ He better be. But he said the only way to open the door, was to have his blood. What did they do to him?

Before I could contemplate the answer for too long, there was a knock at my door. Snapping my head to the door, it slowly opened to reveal a violet-haired girl, who looked to be about my age. My eyes widened, what was she doing here?

"Hello miss!" The girl said, "Are you done dressing?" I nodded, my mouth refusing to speak. Smiling brightly at me, she guided me to the chair in front of the vanity, and sat me down. While she was fumbling for something in her tote, my mouth decided to work.

"Why are you here?" I asked. The girl looked up, apparently surprised at my question.

"Oh," she said, giving a closed eye grin, "I'm here to make you presentable for the master!" Seeing the perplexed look on my face, she added, "You don't want to anger him, after all." I scoffed to myself. I don't think I can avoid that… The girl pulled something out of her bag, that looked suspiciously like makeup (AKA, torture device). Pinning my hair back, she started to brush something on my face.

I should say, I've never used makeup before. _Well_, I have, but I absolutely detest it. I hate the feeling of it on my face, and the only reason why I tried it in the first place, was because my friends convinced me to. Once. Plus, makeup just seemed unnecessary to me. I mean, we were born looking the way we are for a reason? Why would we need to put on a bunch of powder and cream to look like something we're not? It didn't make any sense to me. I've never been especially 'super girly', preferring function over fashion. I was usually alone it that, but I preferred it that way.

"Close your eyes," she ordered. She was rather energetic, but she became very serious when it came to her trade. Obeying, I shut my eyes tightly, feeling her brush powder over my eyes. Ugg… Why do females _insist_ on wearing this all the time? It's ridiculous!

I had to keep my eyes shut for a long while. I could feel myself growing restless, even though I was technically in danger. But there was something strange… I didn't get the feeling that Claude actually wanted to harm me, at least not in the physical sense. But that didn't make any sense! If he didn't want to harm me, then why was I even here? I wasn't a bargaining chip, since that wouldn't work. What would he even trade me for, anyway? And if he wanted to claim me… I shuddered. Good luck with that, mate. I'll die before that happens.

"Open," she commanded after several minutes of torture. I slowly opened my eyes, and stared in shock at the mirror. A different person was staring back at me. The girl had done something to my hair to make it slightly curly, but just enough to make soft curls. She had also put a load of makeup on me. She had put gold and purple eyeshadow on me, the gold streaking out at the corners. She had hidden my small freckles with concealer. I looked like a fairy- like some supernatural being.

She must have seen my shocked expression. "You look beautiful!" she exclaimed, giving a huge smile. I must admit, she was a magician with makeup, but I still preferred my natural look.

"Thank you," I said quietly. I may detest the idea of Claude having me dressed up like some doll, but she did have skill. The girl grinned at me, seeming to glow brightly as she did so. Snapping out of it, the girl clapped her hands together.

"Now," she exclaimed, "Accessories!" She paraded a bunch of necklaces, and other jewelry in front of me, and started trying them on me. "No," she dismissed, tossing a silver locket behind her, "No. No. No. Definitely not." With each word, she tossed another necklace away. "Ah! Here we are!" She held up black, lace choker. It was rather pretty, but not something I would ever wear. But, it's not like I had a choice.

She paired them with a pair of silver stud earrings from her jewelry box, and a necklace with a thick, silver chain. There violet rose piece dangling from it, resting on my chest. Gently getting the earrings in my ears, she stepped back.

"There," she exclaimed, "Now it's perfect!" I have to admit, she did her job well. I would have never done something like this, but she was good. "Stand up." I obeyed. She pushed the chair in, opened the door, and started to walk out, beckoning me to follow. Hesitating for a moment, I decided to follow her. Scrambling, I caught up with her.

"So…" I started, "What's your name?" The girl turned her head to give me a surprised look. Obviously, not many people even bothered to ask her name.

"Alyiah," she answered, giving me a smile.

"So, Alyiah, do you know what I'm doing here?" I asked. I had a pretty good idea why I was here, but I was avoiding that possibility for now. There was also a chance that she knew something that I didn't.

"I'm sorry miss," Alyiah said, sounding genuinely regretful, "I can't tell you that." I sighed to myself, but didn't press her. I knew well enough that I wouldn't get anything out of her.

We soon arrived at a door in a grand entrance, and it opened as soon as we came near. I stood hesitantly just outside et door, before going in when Alyiah motioned for me to. The doors shut behind me, without anyone touching them. I immediately regretted the decision to come in here.

I had entered a study- not just any study- Claude's study. Claude was standing near a bookcase, holding a worn journal in his hand filled with spidery writing. He looked up as soon as I entered, his eyes running appraisingly over me. I bristled at the look, glaring at him. _Could he be any less subtle?_ Then again, he's a demon, I don't think he really gives a shit.

Claude chuckled at me, when he noticed my glare.

"What is wrong, my dear?" He inquired slyly, moving closer to me to cup my cheek with his hand. I slapped his hand away, continuing to glare at him. I didn't want him anywhere near me.

"I am not yours," I said coldly at him, "And I'm certainly not 'your dear'." He arched an eyebrow at my words, but continued to move closer to me. Reaching up a hand again, I slapped it away before it could touch me.

"Get. Away. From. Me," I hissed. Claude stood in apparent shock for a moment, before his eyes flashed fuchsia, his pupils transforming into cat slits. Taking me by my throat, he slammed me against the wall, my legs dangling below me. I gasped for breath, air not being able to get into my lungs.

"You must understand something," Claude growled at me, "You should not test me. I may not be able to hurt you, at least physically yet, but there is a lot that I can do to you that doesn't show… much." Be able to? Was he working with someone else? That was the last sensible thought I had, as my oxygen deprivation was slowly making itself known.

The lack of oxygen to my brain was causing me to see black spots, my vision fading quickly. At the very last moment, before I could pass out, Claude released me. I fell to the ground, landing on my hands and knees, and took a deep breath of the life giving oxygen. Panting, I lay there on the ground for a moment, trying to catch my lost breath.

Hearing the carpet shift beneath Claude's feet, I sensed him moving down so he was on my level. My suspicions were confirmed as he lifted up my chin. His gold eyes met mine, and I refused to break contact.

"Let me explain this to you," Claude said, with a predatory look in his eye, "I own you, and there is nothing you can do about it. I can do anything to you I wish." Glaring at him, I spat at him.

"Bastard." Claude's eyes shone dangerously bright. He then quickly reached out a hand, to grab the chain of my necklace, and start choking me with it. He tightened it with an iron fist, so that it was crushing my windpipe. I choked, grabbing at my throat. I was unable to get a hold on it, since it was pressed so tight up against me.

As I started to pass out, he finally let go. Falling to the floor weakly, I took in a greedy breath, savoring me being able to breathe again. Claude stood up, leaving me lying on the ground. As he walked past me, I curled into a ball, not wanting to be near him. I hated him more than anything, more than anything I've ever hated in my life. He was the epitome of everything evil.

I would be the first to admit, I find nothing wrong with darkness. The darkness was kind, it lets you hide from the tortures of the day. It lets you be free with your imagination, a blank slate for you to write on… But Claude wasn't any of that. Evil is different from darkness, and Claude is definitely evil. He was the monster in your closet, that you were always afraid of when you were little. He was that one villain in stories, that everyone always hated- maybe not even the true antagonist. He was all the spiders, and cockroaches in the world. He was an infestation in the world, one that you couldn't get rid of, no matter how hard you tried.

Once I pumped enough oxygen into my lungs, I sat up, and shakily rose to my feet. Claude was flipping through the journal again, standing at his desk. He glanced at me once I stood up, as if daring me to speak back again. I didn't.

"Was there any particular reason you called me in here?" I asked, it was the only thing that I could convince myself to say. Claude snapped his book shut, turning to fully face me. I flinched as he did so, but refused to look away. I wouldn't bow to his will.

"Not particularly, though I do want to speak to you." I bristled at his words. Claude strode towards me, invading my personal space.

"About what?" I asked coldly, keeping my voice in a monotone. He didn't answer for a moment, instead continuing to smile creepily. I breathed a sigh of relief when he finally backed away, folding his hands behind his back.

"What do you know about Ciel's past?" Claude asked abruptly. I arched an eyebrow at his question. What the actual hell? As I thought about his question, the more I realized I didn't really know anything about Ciel. I knew about him contracting Sebastian, and getting turned into a demon, but that was really all I knew. Claude must have taken my silence for an answer, because he continued. "Did you even know that he had a fiancée?" Claude inquired slyly. My eyes widened.

Well, I should say, I wasn't really surprised. I didn't presume to know everything about Ciel, he was a mystery that I could never quite solve. Besides, he did live in the Victorian era as an Aristocrat. It's just, I had never really thought about it. And going by the Victorian England's tradition… Ciel would have been engaged to his cousin. Ew. Well, at least it was like the Greeks, and married his sister or something. That would be worse.

But… he should have at least told me. I wonder if he missed her? After all, they were family, and to be married. She must be long dead by now. I was saddened by that thought, by someone being dead who I had never met before.

"What was her name?" I asked quietly. Claude arched an eyebrow, surprised at my reaction. He must have been expecting me to become furious, or something like that. I wasn't normally that type of person, though. Even when I was angry, I usually became very calm. I only become 'angry', when I was scared.

"Her name was Elizabeth," Claude answered after a moment. I nodded, lost in thought. Poor girl… She was left behind in a long ago era, her loved one had moved on. Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice Claude frown at my lack of reaction. Sensing him shift in place, my eyes snapped back up to look at him. He was staring at me with a cryptic expression on his face, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"What?" I spat at him. Claude smirked at me, a predatory look in his eyes.

"You _are_ different from the rest, aren't you?" He inquired mysteriously. I raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" I asked harshly. Did he take a class or something, so he could_ learn_ how to never make sense. Every sentence that came out of his mouth had to be decoded. Claude took a step closer to me.

"I almost don't fault Ciel for falling in love with you," Claude commented. My heart stopped at his words.

"What?" I asked, my throat dry. I highly doubted that Ciel loved me. He may, someday, perhaps. At least, I hope. I love him, but I knew that his feelings weren't the same. Claude snorted at me, rolling his eyes like a petulant teenager.

"You must be blind, or incredibly stupid," Claude said. I bristled slightly at that, but calmed back down at his next words. "It's clear that he has a weak spot for you." With that, he took a step closer, the light reflecting off of his glasses, causing a glare. I tried to take a step backwards, but realized I couldn't, as I backed into the wall. I glared at him, as he invaded my personal space, wrapping an arm around my waist. He pulled me closer to him, and held me against him so I couldn't get away.

I squirmed, trying to get away, but failed miserably. Claude smirked at me, before trailing a finger down my face, to cup my chin.

"I do believe you owe me something…" My eyes widened, as I realized what he was going to do. Smirking cruelly, he closed the distance between us, and harshly attacked my mouth.

"Umph!" I yelled against his mouth, trying to escape. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, as I struggled to get away. Instead of letting me go, he took advantage of my mouth being open, and invaded it with his tongue. I whimpered against him, my mind wanting nothing more than to get away. Eventually, my lungs started screaming for oxygen, not being able to breath.

When he finally let go, I breathed a sigh of relief, so glad that he just stopped. Gasping, I worked the air back into my lungs. If was around Claude for much longer, I was afraid I would have permanent breathing problems. Claude chuckled from above me, and I shivered at the sound. Tilting my head up with his hand, he smirked down at me.

"Well, you paid up," Claude sighed, looking down at me regretfully, "Just be glad I didn't take more." At his words, I sighed in relief, and relaxed almost completely. I was suddenly exhausted. Was this what it was like being around him all the time? This time, I was glad that he was still holding me, because I was certain that if he stopped, I would fall to the ground.

After several minutes had passed, I broke out of my trance, and fought my way out of his grasp. He looked almost sad that I had left, but I would have gone crazy had I been in his arms any longer. There was just something about him that put me off- it wasn't even just because he was a demon and evil. There was just something about him that made you want to run as fast as you could in the other direction. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option for me. Claude was staring into the distance, a thoughtful expression on his face.

I cleared my throat, snapping Claude out of his reverie. His attention snapped back to me.

"Ah, yes," he said, "You may go anywhere in the mansion that you wish." I arched an eyebrow. Did he really not expect me to escape. He turned back to his book, and I took that as a sign that I could leave. Getting out of the room as fast as humanly possible, I started to explore the mansion.

~o0o~

The mansion was enormous, even larger than Ciel's. There was absolutely no way to find anywhere, and I was hopelessly lost. The worst part was, I hadn't even seen anyone else. And there was no way in hell that I was going to ask Claude for help. Nope.

Passing a window, I had the… _brilliant_ idea to smash it and escape. I was on the third story, but I could get down somehow… Hopefully. I had fairly good balance, if not the best, I bet I could get down somehow. Searching the hallway, my eyes landed on a golden candlestick sitting on a small table. Quickly grabbing it, I prepared to smash the window, and brought it down as hard as I could against the cold glass. Nothing happened. My eyes widening, I dropped the candlestick to the floor, it falling out of my grasp. There was no damage to the window at all.

Now, I may not be the strongest person in the world, but I'm pretty sure that the window should have sustained at least a little damage. Giving up on the candlestick, I banged not the glass with my fists, nothing happening again. Growling in frustration, I stalked down the corridor. _There must be an enchantment over the mansion, so I can't get out_, I reasoned with myself. I growled to myself, hating Claude more with every step I took.

Opening the seemingly thousandth door, it revealed itself to be the library. Ah, thank you library for always being there for me. I stepped inside the room, and shut the door behind me. The library was enormous. It had balconies at the top of a grand staircase, with a whole other story of books. The entire room was three stories high, and filled to the brim with books. I smiled softly at the sight, quickly grabbing a familiar book, and hiding in the corner.

As I tried to read, the more I realized I couldn't focus on my book. All my brain wanted to think about was Ciel. Was he okay? Was he hurt badly? What was he doing now? Was he even alive? God… I hoped so. Besides, could demons even die? Apparently they did regenerate, Claude was proof of that. But would I ever see him again? I had to… That's how it worked. Wasn't it?

I don't know how long I was in the library, but when a servant came in, it was already dark.

"Miss?" He called into the dark library. Groaning quietly to myself, I stood up, dusting my skirt off.

"I'm right here!" I called back, stepping into the light. He looked relieved to see me, as if he was afraid I had disappeared.

"Follow me, please." He turned around, and walked out of the library. Scrambling after him, I eventually caught up and walked in step with him. He was silent, but he occasionally sent me almost pitying looks. My heart sank with every step we took, what was Claude planning?

We soon arrived at an unfamiliar door. The servant held it open for me, revealing a grand dining room, with a table laden with everything that you could ever want. There was a roast in the middle of the table, fruits of all kinds- including sorts that I didn't recognize, cheese, bread, anything and everything. It was a feast fit for a king.

The door shut behind me, and I was trapped in the room with Claude, who was sitting at the head of the table. Another servant pulled out a chair at the other head, so I would be facing Claude. Reluctantly, I took a seat, my hands clenched so hard that my fingernails were digging into my palm.

Claude was lazily sipping from a wine glass containing a red liquid. I hoped it was wine, but somehow, I doubted it was. Flicking a hand, he dismissed all the servants from the room, so it was only the two of us. I eyed the food, but didn't dare eat any of it. Claude noticed this, and smirked against his glass.

"You should eat something," he said. I glared at him.

"I'm not hungry," I stated. My stomach chose that exact moment to betray me, by rumbling loudly in the quiet room. Claude chuckled, and I blushed, looking down at my hands in my lap.

"I didn't poison any of it," Claude said in an amused tone. Slightly reassured by that, I let my gaze wander down the table. Darting my hand out, I took a vermilion apple. Claude smirked at my choice of food, but I didn't see, being too preoccupied with not looking at him.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked, looking up at him. Claude arched an eyebrow at my question, taking a sip from his glass.

"For many reasons, I suppose," he said, "None of which, you need to know." I looked down in frustration at my hands. He saw through that in an instant.

"Can you at least tell me what's going to happen to me?" I begged, adding tears in my eyes for special effects. I was hoping that this would work. Something changed in Claude's expression, but I couldn't place it.

"You will play a major part in events to come, you will see soon," Claude said. "And after that," he smirked, "You will belong to me." My eyes widened at that. Dying is sounding like a good option now… But I knew I wouldn't, there is always a way out of things, you just have to look for it.

To distract myself, I took a bite of the apple in my hands. Almost immediately, I was overcome with a dizzy feeling. Reaching up to clutch my throat, I stood up, staggering. Through my blurry vision, I could see Claude smirking.

Falling to the ground, I could hear Claude stand up, and walk over to where I was lying. The room was spinning, and my brain refused to function. My eyes focusing, my eyes landed on the apple. He lied. _Though_, I thought bitterly, _I suppose it's mainly my fault. A poison apple, how cliché._ Bending down, Claude took my head in his hand, and sighed, his eyes betraying his absolute mirth.

"Demons lie, remember that. Soon you will be mine for eternity." Claude's words were the last thing I heard, before I fell into the eternal darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey guys, sorry I took so long with this. Apparently I caused a lot of stress with the last chapter, so now you can replace that stress with this stress! Yay! I hope you liked the chapter, if you did, please review- they make me happy!

Reviews:

Sakemori: Honey, I'm the Queen of Ice. I can take down a little demon from hell…

Fluffyskyloxables: Well… she may soon… (Shhh…)

Tye-Dye Girl: Hope you liked the chapter!

GMWalcorn2713 Yes, you may not kill the Claude. (Masses of fangirls holding pitchforks*

Notes-of-Raven: MUAHAHAHA! (But, for real, sorry I caused you stress!) Hope this chapter made everything better… or not. Thanks for your answer, it's been noted. *Hugz*

Awesomealixe: Good to know I did my job! Hope you liked the chapter!

DesirableDreams:  I'd be glad to give you some book recommendations! If you set up an account, I could PM you a ton, or if you have another way that you'd prefer, I'd be happy to do it!

Guest: I know, that song is super creepy! HAHAHA, I don't know whether to be proud or offended… (Probably proud ;) )

Animegeek00: I love that song too! (Oh, and the second was Hide and Seek, by Judy Phonic (Love her!)

Foreveradreamerinlife: I agree with you on Claude, hope you liked the chapter!

Scorpia: Thanks so much! ;) And, answer noted. *Hugz*

Esmereilda: MUHAHAHAHA! Nope, sorry. She's not dreaming!

Darkshadow400: I'm super glad you loved it! I'm honestly surprised by how many people didn't expect Claude to get in there. (Then again, I'm writing it, and it's esential to the plot). Don't worry! Thea will be (relatively) okay!

Please R&amp;R!


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

A slow pounding was slowly, but surely, making itself known in my head. I grimaced, a roaring in my ears, drowning everything else out. Scrunching my eyelids together, I wearily opened them, only to see Claude in front of me.

"Ah, you're finally awake," Claude said, almost boredly. He was sitting on a plain, wood chair, in the middle of a strange room. I froze, having been jolted into consciousness. Looking around, I noticed that I was lying on a bed in a room that very much resembled a prison cell. It was completely white, and there wasn't a window in sight. There was a single, metal door, that looked very solid. Adrenaline ran through me, and I immediately tried to run away. Key word- tried.

As soon as I attempted to get off of the bed, the chains around my wrists and ankles made themselves known. I could only move each limb about a foot, before being confined to my space on the bed. Tossing my head side to side, I looked frantica1lly for a way to escape, only to not find one.

Claude rolled his eyes, before getting out of the chair, and sitting on the edge of the bed. He lightly placed an ungloved hand on my calf, and I struggled even harder to get away from him. Unfortunately, it didn't work considering I was literally chained to the bed. Smirking up at me, he trailed his hand higher, before brushing the edge of my black dress. It felt filthy, especially since I had worn it all night. Or what time was it anyway? There wasn't a window in the room, so I didn't know whether I had been out for only a few hours, or a few years. Either way, I felt terrible.

"My darling, Thea," Claude said, my name curling off his tongue in a way that made me shudder. I glared at him in response.

"I'm not yours, bastard" I spat at him. Wrong answer. Claude yanked the chain connected to ankle, dragging me as far as possible towards him. My arms were stretched above my head, and I couldn't move an inch.

"Is that so?" Claude tilted my head with one finger, forcing me to look at him. I continued to glare at him, exhaling heavily through my nose. My lips curled, looking at him. I hated with every fiber of my being. "Well, my dear," he said, leaning closer to me, with a leer painted on his face, "Very soon, you will belong to only me. I will own you completely, and there is no way you will be able to stop it." My eyes widened in shock, what did he even mean? What did he have planned? Better yet, did I want to know?

"Where am I?" I growled. We were clearly not in his home anymore, since I doubted that he had a prison cell as clean as this one. Plus, he had already allowed me access to everywhere in his home, I don't think he would just randomly chain me up, just for fun. _Well… he might…_ Claude arched an eyebrow at me, before releasing me.

"You're at Stonehenge," he said bluntly.

"What." I was shocked to say the least- what the hell was I doing in Stonehenge? "What am I here for?" Claude stood up, brushing imaginary dust off of his dress pants.

"You'll see soon enough," he said, "Follow me." He turned around to leave, and I arched an eyebrow.

"How, pray tell, am I supposed to do that?" I inquired wryly. Claude sighed, before releasing me with a snap of his fingers. At his snap, the chains around my ankles and wrists dissolved into nothingness. I stared in shock at my newly freed hands, before getting up to follow Claude when he left the room.

I followed him into a well-lit hallway, that looked like it belonged in a hospital. It had the same blinding-whiteness, and disgusting smell. I stayed quite a bit behind Claude, not wanting to get too close to him. I silently followed after him, until we reached an enormous room, at least ten times the size of the small cell I was placed in.

The metal door closed behind me, giving it an enclosed, prison cage feeling, but I didn't notice. I gazed in awe around the room. It was filled with such advanced technology, that it looked like it belonged in a sci-fi film. I assumed that the room was a headquarters of some kind, since there was a giant getting table in the center, surrounded by dozens of chairs. On one wall, there was a screen the size of the entire wall. It was the size of at least three movie screens, _combined_. It was gigantic.

"What is this place?" I breathed, craning my head to look at everything. Everything was white, except for the screen on the wall, which showed a dark blue color with a strange symbol on it, that looked like… a pentagram?

"'This place', as you put it," Claude said, "Is the main room for the human followers of the 'fallen angels'." I turned to stare at him in shock. "What?" He taunted, smirking at me, "Did you really think I didn't have help?" My mouth would not cooperate with me, and I couldn't utter a word.

"Is that how you got into the manor?" I asked after my I recovered, my mouth dry. That's why there was so much noise, and how he got to me so quickly.

"I had infiltrated the manor many months before, that is, after all, where the secret library came from," Claude smirked. My mouth opened in surprise, before shaking my head to clear me of my thoughts, and switching back to the original topic.

"How did you get humans to help you?" I had expected other demons to help him, but why humans? Why are they so STUPID? Claude smirked.

"Humans will believe anything you tell them, assuming that it is either very probable, or extremely fantastical." I glared at Claude, trying to burn holes into him. I didn't know it was possible to hate something _this_ much.

"What. Did. You. Tell. Them," I growled. Claude arched an eyebrow at me.

"I simply told them the truth," Claude said with false innocence, "I told them that the earth needed a new beginning, where the supernatural can once again roam free, as they did long ago." I gaped at him in horror.

"And they _helped_ you?" What kind of horrid human beings would choose to follow a demon into hell. "Did you tell them that once war breaks out because of all of this, all humans will die." Claude's eyes widened a fraction, but quickly went back to normal.

"I didn't happen to mention that fact, no," Claude said smoothly. He was obviously surprised that I grasped that much. _Well, I'm not a complete idiot, unlike your followers…_

"Why would they even want the supernatural to roam the earth," I hissed, "Aren't humans supposed to hate them!" Claude arched an eyebrow.

"Curiosity killed the cat, after all," he said, smirking, "Many of them seem to think that the supernatural with help them with their woes. Help them tend their garden, stoke their fire… bring back _loved_ ones." I froze on the last word. Tightening my jaw, I turned my head away in disgust, not being able to look at him any longer.

"I don't understand why you are so upset, there is no one human who cares for you any longer. Why should you care that humanity dies?" I turned my head back to glare at him.

"Because I _am _human!" I hissed at him. Claude rolled his eyes at me, before looking away.

"You act like you'll be human for much longer," he sighed at me, acting almost disappointed in me. My eyes widened a fraction.

"What?" I demanded, shocked. Claude rolled his eyes again, and sighed impatiently.

"Must I spell it out for you?" He inquired rhetorically, striding toward me, and taking me in his hands, "After you fulfill your role in the prophecy, you will no longer be human. And then you will belong to me for eternity." I stood stock still, my mouth open, gaping at him; unable to say anything.

Claude took advantage of the fact that I was shocked into silence, by taking my head in his hand, and ravishing my mouth. He placed his hand on the small of my back, pushing me up against him. His tongue invaded my mouth, and tears pricked my eyes. The pounding in my head started again, purely out of terror.

Once I regained my strength, it pushed me back into movement. I desperately beat on his chest, and I struggled to get away. When he _finally_ let go, I sighed with relief. I wretched myself from his grip, and took several paces away from him. Claude smirked at me with an air of dominance, but didn't pursue me any further.

Before he could do anything else, a crowd of about twenty people came in through the door. I turned to stare at them with large eyes. They all looked relatively normal, they didn't' have wings or fangs or anything like that. They looked human. I glanced at Claude, only to see that he was observing me. I immediately looked away, a scowl adorning my face.

"Everyone!" Claude called, clapping his hands together. They all turned to face him, and fell silent almost immediately. _Wow, he really has them under his command… _I took to observing each individual as a whole, looking for _something_, _anything_ to prove that these people were evil. That they deserved to die.

Much to my dismay, I couldn't find anything. They all looked like fairly good people. Nice people. The kind you wouldn't want to die, to fall off the earth unnoticed. My heart sunk, my eyes filled with pity for these people. They thought they were freeing a species, but they were really dooming themselves, and everyone around them.

_Maybe I can convince them that Claude is tricking them…_ As soon as the thought crossed my head, Claude turned to look at me with a dangerous look in his eye, as if he could read my mind. I gulped at the predatory look, and promptly turned away. I doubted that he would do anything in front of his 'followers', but who knew. He was a demon after all.

"Is this her?" One of the women asked timidly, in front of her leader. Claude nodded.

"Yes, she is. She is here to bring you all to salvation!" Claude announced loudly to the room. All the men and women cheered, looking at me with appreciation in their eyes. It made me sick. Salvation? From a demon?

I must have been in a sort of trance for several minutes, because the next thing I knew, Claude was calling a trio of women over to us. Each one of the was rather individually colored, and they seemed to be little older than me. One had light pink hair and was very doe-eyed. The tallest one had lime green hair, and matching eyes. The other had electric blue hair, and large, brown eyes. They all seem extremely cheerful for what they were helping Claude do. _Not that they even know… _

"I'm Rosalind," the pink-haired one said softly.

"I'm Odessa!" The lime green-haired one exclaimed.

"And I'm Aria!" The blue-haired one finished. Not waiting for a response, they immediately started acting like a flock of birds, and started ushering me towards the door.

"Make sure she's prepared for tonight's ceremony!" Claude called after them. They nodded cheerfully back at him, before herding me out the door. A spark of fear lit my chest at his words. _What ceremony? _After what he had told me earlier, I apparently wouldn't be human anymore… What was he going to do to me?

Before I could contemplate the answer to that _horrifying_ question, I was in a room with a medium-sized pool in the center. There wasn't another door in the room, and there weren't any windows. _Well, there goes my plan for escape…_ Looking at the pool, I realized what they wanted me to do.

"Are you going to make me take a bath?" I asked bluntly. _Why did they have to be here…?_ They nodded at me, still looking happy. Sighing, I began to undress, and while I did so, Rosalind put something in the water to create a lot of foam. The multiple fruity scents coming from the gigantic tub soon filled the room.

"Uhh… Can you guys turn around?" I asked awkwardly, once I was down to my underthings. They all nodded, rather solemnly, and quickly spun around.

Quickly stripping myself of my remaining clothes, I slipped in the tub, and moaned aloud to the room at the feeling of the warm water. Usually, I wasn't one for bathes, but this was more like bathing in a swimming pool.

When they heard me get it, the trio turned around, and they started to bathe me. I protested at first- not that they listened to me. Sighing, I gave up, and leaned back so Odessa could wash my hair. However, none of them tried to bathe my body. Bitch is going to end up in a hospital if she tries that. Luckily, for them and me, no one tried to.

"Tilt your head back, Mistress," Rosalind commanded in a soft-spoken voice. Frowning, I did so, and she poured a bucket of water over my head to rinse my hair.

"Call me Thea," I requested. I didn't like the sound of 'mistress'. Why were they acting like I was above them?

"Very sorry Mistress, but we can't," Aria answered, sounding nervous for the first time since I had met her. I frowned with my eyes closed, feeling another bucket of water pouring down on my head.

"Why not?" I demanded. Unbeknownst to me, the trio exchanged glances toward each other.

"The master commanded us not to," Odessa answered. I grimaced at the word. Even though the secretive 'ceremony' hasn't happened yet, Claude was already staking his claim on me. I growled low in my throat, but fell silent as I allowed the trio to finish washing me. I would have preferred to do it myself, but they weren't having any of it.

Once they were done washing me, luckily allowing me to wash my torso, they let me dry off, and then started to dress me. Aria sat me down on a large, plush stool, while the other two bickered over what I should wear.

"She needs to look pretty!" Rosalind argued, sounding the fiercest I had heard her sound since I met her.

"But the master doesn't like white!" Odessa retorted, putting her hands on her hips. I arched an eyebrow at the scene, letting it unfold in front of me.

"But she would look so pretty in a white dress! Plus, you know what they're planning… It'll adhere to her roots…" Odessa had opened her mouth during Rosalind's rant, but quickly shut it at the last sentence. Glancing at me out of the corner of her eye, I pretended not to have been listening, and she nodded. _Adhere to my roots, what does she mean?_ I glanced sideways at her, trying to figure it out.

Before I knew it, the trio was stuffing me into a flowing, plain, white dress. They were incredibly fast, and it seemed like I could barely follow their movements. Rosalind sat me down at the vanity, and she started to attend to my hair, curling it, and putting it into an elaborate hairstyle. Odessa worked on my makeup (probably worse than any demon could come up with), and Aria painted my nails a dark blue.

I felt like a doll, being pushed every which way, and my mind spinning a thousand miles per hour. The three worked in silence, focused on their individual tasks, leaving the room absolutely silent; you could hear a pin drop

"Close your eyes," Odessa commanded. I obeyed, feeling her put some mystery powder on my face, that was probably made from the crushed dreams of small children. Once again the room fell silent, leaving met to my thoughts. _What exactly was Claude planning?_ The thought that he was going to turn me into a demon had passed my head multiple times, but for some reason it didn't feel quite right.

"All done!" Aria announced cheerfully. Slowly opening my eyes, I gazed in shock at the mirror. Medea was staring back at me, out of my eyes. In addition to my greek-style gown, I had elaborately braided hair, that was half flowing down my back. Odessa had also given me golden eyelids, and smokey eyes. My eyes widened in shock, my mind in turmoil. _What…? Oh God, what is he going to do to me? _

"Claude is tricking you!" I blurted out. The three stopped in their activities to look at me. Clearing my throat, I started again. "He's not trying to help you, he's a demon trying to raise hell on earth." Odessa and the others exchanged glances, looking like they were worried about my mental health.

"Sweetie, it's okay," Rosalind soothed, "You're just tired. Of course the Master is here to help us." I stared at her in disbelief for a moment, before giving up, and looking down at my feet.

"Of course… I must just be feeling a little tired…" Rosalind smiled kindly, and patted my shoulder softly.

"Of course, we understand completely," she assured me. Still glaring down at my feet, I clenched my fists together. There was no way that they would ever believe me, I could tell that now. And the sad thing was… they didn't deserve to die. They were naive, sure, but that wasn't a reason for them to die. And they surely would, if Claude succeeded in raising war on earth. I don't know how he was planning to do it, but he was nonetheless.

I let the colorful trio lead me out of the room, and down an unfamiliar hallway. Cautiously looking around, I couldn't see any obvious way to escape. I was assuming we were underground, since there didn't seem to be any windows anywhere, and Claude had said we were at Stonehenge. Just the fact that we were at a famous landmark, didn't exactly give me hope for what Claude was planning. Especially since we don't know what _exactly_ Stonehenge was used for when it was originally built.

Eventually, we stopped in front of a heavy, wood door. Aria paused before knocking nervously. As soon as she knocked once, the door swung open on its own, revealing a dark room inside. Odessa motioned for me to walk in, so I hesitantly took a step inside, dread filling the pit of my stomach.

As soon as I stepped inside, I immediately regretted it. The door closed behind me, and in the dim lighting, I could see three cloaked people.

"Welcome, Thea," Claude said smoothly from the corner. "You look beautiful." I spun to face him, my heart beating like a jack rabbit. I hadn't seen him at first, overcome with the cloaked people. Glancing back at them, I was once again filled with a sudden dread.

"Why am I here?" I asked lowly, darting my eyes between him and the trio. Claude leered at me, smirking.

"You'll see," he smirked, leering at me. "Bind her." My eyes widened in shock, and almost immediately the three cloaked people grabbed me.

"What? Get off of me!" I yelled, struggling to get away. It was no use, as they were physically stronger than I, and even I could get away, where would I go? It wasn't as if I could run far, especially with my leg.

Ignoring my shouts, they continued to chain me to the floor. They bound me so that my ankles were shackled to the floor, and my wrists were bound by chains, pulling them in different directions, so that they faced opposite walls. I was in a position, so my ankles could not move at all, and my hands were as far away from me as they could possibly be. I couldn't move an inch.

Once they were down binding me, the trio removed their hoods, to reveal that they were in fact, very pretty women. They all had a wild feel about them, and there was something about them that made me instantly know that they were witches. I could just feel it somehow.

"**_We are the trio_**," one said in a startlingly deep voice.

"**_We are the coven_**," another said, picking up where the other left off.

"**_We are the witches_**," the last one said.

"**_We are the magick, we are time, we are the moon, and the stars; and the sun and sky. We are everything that has been, that is, that shall be. We control the entirety of time and space- they are ours to command_**," they said together. The acted as one, as if they were the same person. All at once, they turned their heads to face Claude.

"**_Leave demon,_**" they commanded, "**_Magick has no place for thee, beast of hell._**" Claude didn't look too happy about it, but he obeyed them. After the door closed, when he left, the gaze of the three witches turned to me.

"**_Thea Hawthorne_**," said one.

"**_Medea of Greece_**_,_" another continued.

"**_Morgan le Fay_**," the final one said.

"**_How many names has thy gone under? How many lives has thy taken?_**" They spoke as one, like a snake encircling the world. _But I haven't done any of that!_ I wanted to scream. Me, or at least this body, hasn't done anything. Not letting me do, or think, anything more, they began to chant.

"**_Pog gsih nejgup zewy zo vjoo, vjen soj wouwpy xajho,_**

**_Pog gso hlihigh zo vjoo vjen gino, ge pifo emxo nejo._**

**_Tewwohh, pog soj jononzoj._**

**_Tewwohh, pog soj jononzoj._**

**_Tewwohh, pog soj jononzoj_**." With every word spoken, a searing pain started burning throughout my body. My mind was wracked with turmoil, I could think, let alone straight. It was as if something was fighting to get out inside my brain, and it was forcing its way through. With my vision starting to see stars, I didn't see the shadows that were filling the room, dancing without any light to be seen. At the very last word, I let out a howl of pure agony, before collapsing as far as the chains would allow.

I'm not sure whether I had passed out when I collapsed, or I had just gone into a trance, but either way, when I came to, the room was no longer the same. When I awakened, the room was brightly lit, and the coven was whispering to Claude, who was back in the corner of the room. I felt exhausted, but I couldn't find it in myself to care.

_Why do I feel so tired…? _For a moment, I couldn't remember what had happened, but as soon as my brain started to work again, I was bombarded with members of times long passed.

_Merlin, Jason, Theseus_\- hundreds of people swirled through my head like snowflakes in a blizzard. They all zipped by too fast to be seen, but they were there. I could sense them. _Oh my Gods…_ For the first time since my parents died, true tears threatened to fall. _So many people… lost forever to the cruel passage of time…_ Why had I kept going on? I had lost so many… I had _forgotten_ so many. I had loved before. I had fought before. I had _killed_ before. I had done so many things, and had forgotten them even more with each passing lifetime.

Rockwell had been right, I've been alive for thousands- _millions_ of years. I had been there before humans had discovered fire, when it all began. And I was still here today.

I must have fallen into a trance again, because the next thing I knew, Claude was right in front of me. He smirked at me, and raised a hand to brush my cheek.

"So you finally remember…" He said, his lips twisting into a smile. Glaring into his eyes, I spat at him. Claude flinched, unprepared for such action, before getting a cryptic look on his face. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his face clean of my spittle.

"Well then," Claude commented, looking down at me cruelly, "Bring her to the center." My eyes widened at him, as he left the room, leaving the witches with me. Almost immediately, they started unchain me, although taking their time with it. One of the witches, with chestnut brown hair, kept glancing at me, with something that resembled… pity.

Once they unchained me, and helped me stand, I immediately found out that I was incredibly weak. Like, as in I'm-falling-down-I'm-so-weak. The chestnut-haired witch from earlier, helped me to my feet, and supported me while we walked out of the room.

She helped me the entire, long walk to who knows where. Eventually, though, we reached what I assumed was our destination. We were standing outside a large, metal hatch, which one of the coven opened for us. My eyes widened in surprise, gazing at everything around us. We were in the middle of Stonehenge, the gigantic boulders surrounding us on all sides.

There was a large group of men wearing black cloaks, surrounding something in the center that I couldn't see. I could, however, see Claude near them, eyeing everything around him.

The other two witches left, leaving the chestnut-haired one to support me. As she helped me hobble along to the center, she paused in misstep, causing me to almost fall.

"What is it?" I asked, as kindly as I could. She seemed to be the good one out of the three. There was something… almost _familiar_ about her, that I couldn't place. As I examined her, I noticed that she was holding something out to me in her hand. Looking down, I could see the sheath of a knife in her palm.

Silently, she gestured for me to take it. Hesitating at first, I then took it quickly, hiding it in the skirts of my dress. I nodded at her seriously, as if to thank her. She nodded back, just as serious, and we continued on our walk.

Once we were near the group of men, she let me go, and turned me around. She looked at me with mixed emotions in her eyes, before placing her hand on my cheek, in the exact same way my mother did when she was alive. Her eyes were a kaleidoscope of emotions, portraying love, and a mixture of sadness for her daughter.

"Momma?" I whispered, my voice cracking at the end. My eyes filled with unshed tears, my momma was back. She gave me a sad, soft smile, before removing her hand, and turning around. Before I could process anything that had just happened, I was grasped by the men, and torn away from her. I was shocked into silence for a moment.

"No!" I shouted, struggling against the mens' grips, "NO! COME BACK! PLEASE!" No matter how hard I begged, or yelled, she didn't turn back. I lost her in the tide of the crowd, and I had a sinking feeling in my chest that I would never see her again.

After losing her, I collapsed against the men, letting them drag me along. My own mother had left me. How was she even alive? And she was a witch? These thoughts swirled in my head, but once I saw an altar in the middle, terror replaced it, shoving it to the back of my mind.

Seeing the sacrificial altar, I renewed my struggling and yelling.

"NO, LET ME GO!" I shouted. Was this all fake? Was Claude really going to kill me?

Ignoring my pleas, the men tied my ankles and wrists to the altar, leaving me completely open and exposed to Claude. All the men formed a circle around the altar, and started humming lowly. Claude slowly strode toward me, holding a golden knife. Seeing it, I renewed my struggling.

"Please!" I pleaded, "Don't do this! He's evil, he's a demon! He's trying to destroy all of you!" The men didn't listen, and continued humming. When Claude reached the altar, I released a last powerful, "NO!" Reaching for my wrist, Claude roughly took my palm, and slashed a line over it, letting the blood drip to the ground.

I breathed a temporary sigh of relief that he wasn't going to kill me, that was almost immediately dispelled. The second that my blood hit the earth, the ground started to shake.

I could see all the men looking nervously at the ground, but they never broke their humming. As the shaking gradually became stronger and stronger, _things_ started to break out of the ground. When the first demon arose from the ground, three of the men ran off screaming at its horrifying face. They soon fell silent, as the beast slaughtered them. Once the blood of their comrades fell, the rest of the men ran off, trying to fight the beasts without any weapons.

Looking up at Claude, I could see a triumphant smirk twisting his lips, before seeing something that made my spirits soar.

"Ciel!" I shouted happily. Ciel smirked back at me from across the battlefield, before attacking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey guys, hope you liked the chapter, and it was relatively well-written. Sorry it took so long!

(Psss… Check out my other story, The Storm of the Stars! XD)

Killerdawgrox: I completely understand, I do too. And if I didn't know you, that would have sounded extremely creepy. It still does, actually.

Angelaleopard: Hehehehehehehe… I hope this chapter satisfied you a _little_ at least. So sorry if it didn't!

LadyMaryMichaelis: Yay! Welcome new reader, we have a new chapter at least every couple weeks, and free cookies! Feel free to rent Sebastian or Undertaker. Not Ciel, though, Thea has already claimed him.

Tye-Dye Girl: Claude is a creeper, I hate him too. You'll see…

Notes-of-Raven: YES, I HAVE SUCCEEDED! Same, Except I would probably pour acid on him as well….

DesirableDreams: He is a perv, and not a good one like Sebby. Potassium, let me know when you get an account!

Alpha92201: I know, I kind of felt bad about the last chapter, but I kind of didn't. Sorry! Answer noted, *hugz*

Animegeek00: Don't worry, he has a special end. I hate him too!

Darkshadow400: Yay! Thanks so much! I would punch him too, not that it would harm him.

MagentaPeace: I know, I wrote down your answer! And yes, I did. I'm sorry… (BTW, Ciel would make a fabulous disney prince)

Esmereilda: I _know…_ (Hehehehe…) That's actually a good idea to pour holy water on Claude… Hmmm…

Please R&amp;R!


	25. Chapter 25

**Update: I changed the ending because I messed up really badly… (Sorry!) XD**

Chapter 25

Stonehenge was soon overcome with battle cries, but it was obvious who was winning. Even though there were only three of them, Ciel, Sebastian, and Alois had a definite advantage over Claude's army. His army was partially human, and the others were newborn demons. They didn't stand a chance against some of the most powerful demons in history. In the distraction of Ciel arriving, Claude got separated from me in the panic, so I was left to try to escape.

My hands were bound by ropes on the altar, but I could easily escape them if I could just reach my knife in the skirts of my dress. I could only move an inch in either direction, so reaching it was out of the question. Craning my neck to look at the knots, I was severely disappointed. The knots were very well done, unfortunately, and there was no way I could untie them from here. I was, inevitably, trapped.

But as I examined the knots closer, I could see that the rope was fraying. My eyes lit up, calculating how long it would take me to escape. I started to rub my wrist back and forth, creating friction. I bit my lip as the rope started to fray, the rope making my skin red and raw. Forcing the pain aside, I continued going, ignoring the slow trickle of blood that made its way down my arm.

Soon the rope was on its last strand, and a man fighting for Claude came up to the altar where I was tied. He had a wild-eyed look on his face, and I struggled even harder to get free. Raising a knife above his head, he started to bring it down when I finally broke free.

Using fast reflexes, I threw my knife into his chest, striking dead center. I panted, my chest heaving up and down, as the man fell over. But when he fell over, I could see that there was a knife in his back too. Looking up curiously, I could feel my heart stop for a moment when I saw Ciel staring directly at me. My face broke into a grin, and I would have run towards him, had I not been partially bound to the altar.

Ciel smiled, a real, true smile, and strode towards the altar with determination. I quickly slashed at the three remaining ropes, and I stood up on unsteady feet. It was one of those moments in time where you wished you could take a snapshot, and never forget it. For the first time in a long time, I felt complete.

"Ciel!" I cried, embracing him tightly.

"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly, glancing all over me. I smiled at him, rolling my eyes.

"I'm fine, no permanent damage," I reassured. Ciel visibly relaxed, but continued holding me to him, as if afraid I was going to disappear.

"It's about damn time you showed up here," I scolded, my lips quirking up in a smile. Ciel smirked, before quickly pulling me down to the ground as a gigantic fireball went over us. My eyes widened in shock as I landed on Ciel, straddling his hips accidentally. From this position, I just now noticed that he had both of his eyes uncovered, his eye patch nowhere to be seen.

"We should probably move, shouldn't we?" I inquired rhetorically, raising an eyebrow at him._ Moment gone._

"That's probably for the best," Ciel answered, before dragging me by the hand as we ran to the secret entrance. Once were inside the underground base, I paused to catch my breath.

"So," I started, panting, "What's the plan?" Ciel arched an eyebrow at me.

"The plan is to take down Claude, and destroy the facility," Ciel answered casually. I blinked slowly, gaping at him.

"Just that?" I asked airily. _Note the sarcasm…_ Ciel smirked at me, and nodded. "Then let's get to it." I started marching down the corridor, before Ciel stopped me, grabbing my wrist.

"I did miss you," Ciel said, looking at me with something somehow familiar in his gaze, before wrapping his arm around me and kissing me. For once, I let myself melt into him. I hated to admit it to myself, but I had missed him more than I should have. When he released me, I gazed into his eyes, searching for something. _I love this man,_ the thought dawned on me right then and there. For some reason, I wasn't too surprised- I think I had always known it, I just hadn't wanted to admit it. I loved him more than I had ever loved anyone in all of my lifetimes.

I opened my mouth, but soon shut it when a group of five women armed to the teeth came around the corner. Ciel tensed himself, as if ready to attack, but I shook my head at him, and gave him a mysterious smile. With a dark look in my eyes, I marched towards the group, my hands itching to summon magic. I hadn't done it properly in several lifetimes, ever since the Salem Witch Trials. For the first time in all my lifetimes, I felt complete. I finally had all my memories of times long past, of adventures I had, of things I have done. My memories were clear in my head, and I was filled with euphoria because of it.

Stalking toward the group, they raised their weapons, but with a flick of my wrist, they were all flung away from them. Smirking to myself, I levitated their weapons in the air around them. The women formed a small circle, back to back, warily eyeing their swords.

"What the…" One of them murmured. Without a word, I turned their own weapons against them. One by one, their own swords pierced their stomach, again, and again, and again… An aura of power consumed me, and I was high on it.

"Thea!" Ciel said urgently. Snapping out of it, I stared directly into his deep blue eyes. I must have gone into a trance, because when I came to, I was kneeling on the floor, covered in blood. Looking down at my blood-stained hands, my eyes filled with tears.

"Ciel…?" I asked, reaching out a hand towards him, "What…happened?" Ciel looked at me with concern, resting his hand on my arm.

"It's alright," he soothed. Waveringly, a choked sound came out of my throat, and I collapsed into myself, Ciel holding me.

"I- I didn't mean t-to-" I choked out. Ciel ran his fingers through the loose portion of my hair. He didn't say anything, but remained there until I was stable again. _What caused me to act that way? _As if he could read my mind, Ciel lifted up my chin.

"I thought you couldn't control your magic?" He asked, furrowing his brow. A small smile lit my face.

"I can now." Clenching my hand into a fist, and then releasing it, I made a blue flame dance in my palm. Fascinated, Ciel took my hand in his. I hesitated at first, as I didn't want to harm him, but I allowed him at his insistence. "Three w-witches did something to unbind my magic. I can remember everything, now," I said, my eyes glazed over. Where was my mum now? Was she even still alive? Why did she leave me with only a dagger?

"Thea!" Ciel called, snapping his fingers in front of my face, bringing me out of it. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reassured shakily, silently choosing not to speak of my mother to Ciel. At least, not right now. "Let's go." Ciel nodded grimly, standing up and offering me his hand. I ignored it, standing up on my own.

"Where to?" I asked with a half grin, arching an eyebrow. Ciel responded in like, before pointing down the hall to the right.

"That way, we need to get to the center," Ciel ordered. I tilted my head as we began to run down the hall. Strangely, I didn't feel as tired as I normally would while running. Eh, I was marking it up to adrenaline.

"Why the center?" I asked curiously. Ciel partially turned his head toward me.

"You need to take out the heart to kill it," he said, smirking. Arching an eyebrow at him, I shook my head. I was kind of hoping that we would run into Claude so we could murder him. My mind was filled with wonderful ways in which I could kill him.

The underground facility was more chaotic that I had expected. There were people at every turn, brandishing weapons and charging us. Ciel and I made a pretty good team, and we dispatched a lot of people to the next world. In the chaos, I had to work a lot harder to keep Ciel in sight than I normally did. Everywhere you turned there were people running at you. My newly unleashed magic helped me a ton, but it was tiring.

"YAHHH!" A man yelled, charging me while holding a sword. I was panting, but ducked just in time to avoid getting my head cleanly cut off. My head was pounding from using magic so much, and for not having used it in so long.

"Kii-ah!" I gave a cry of my own as I threw a ball of fire at him. I wanted nothing more that to just lay down on the ground and rest, but I couldn't. There were still so many people in the room. I didn't know where Sebastian and Alois were, but I could hear screams of terror and pain nearby, so I had a pretty good idea.

Seeing a person sneaking up behind Ciel, I threw a knife at the back of their head, lightning fast. Not even turning his head, Ciel returned the favor by blasting someone carrying a spear away from me.

"Thanks Ciel!" I called.

"Any time!" I smirked to myself at his answer, and continued cutting through our enemies with ease.

~o0o~

Once we had escaped the chaotic environment, we started to search for the center of the building.

"Ciel," I started. He looked at me, "When I first woke up here, Claude took me to this place with a massive meeting table, and a screen. Could the entrance to the center be there?" Ciel thought about it for a moment, his brow furrowing.

"Perhaps," Ciel said slowly, "Can you show me the way?" I nodded determinedly, I was fairly certain that I remembered the way, especially since I had a near-photographic memory.

I led the way to the headquarters, and strangely enough we didn't see many people. It was almost completely silent, the only noise was the sound of us breathing. I had ditched my heels a long time ago, since running in high heels was nigh impossible. I have yet to meet a woman who can walk- let alone run- in high heels without looking like a newborn giraffe.

We soon reached the familiar large, oak door, and I pushed it open. The room looked the same as I had left it, but there was a feeling of isolation that wasn't there before. I silently crept into the room, Ciel following me. I motioned for him to follow me, not wanting to speak. For some reason, it just felt wrong to speak in this room right now. I don't know what it was about it.

The lights were flickering, making the room appear dim. Ciel and I crept along the perimeter, searching for anything that could be the entrance to the heart. As I was walking around the large room, I noticed a floorboard that was slightly more raised than the others around it. Curiously, I took a step toward it, before kneeling on the floor. Using my long fingernails to my advantage, I slowly pried up the floor board to reveal a hidden trapdoor.

"Ciel!" I called urgently.

"What?" He questioned back, appearing at my side almost immediately.

"I think I've found it," I said, grinning up at him. I quickly pried up the surrounding floorboards, revealing a hidden staircase underneath the floor. It was completely dark, and I couldn't tell how far down it went. The darkness seemed to call to me, wanting me to go down there.

"Should we?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. Ciel nodded gravely. Taking the first step, I went first down the narrow staircase.

The staircase was so narrow that we had to go down single file, unable to walk side by side. The darkness was so thick, that even after the quarter of an hour that we'd been down there, my eyes still hadn't adjusted.

"Ciel?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes?" He asked in return.

"How did you even find me?" I inquired. Ciel sighed, sounding almost pained in his answer.

"There aren't many demon residences in England," Ciel said wryly, "We knew exactly where you were, but we couldn't penetrate Claude's defenses." I shuddered at his word choice.

"_Never_ use the words 'penetrate' and 'Claude' in the same sentence ever again," I ordered. I could tell that Ciel smirked at me, even though I couldn't see him.

"Agreed," Ciel said before continuing. "We had to wait until you were transported to Stonehenge to attack." I furrowed my eyebrows together.

"What's so special about Stonehenge anyway?" I questioned. I mean, no humans knew what Stonehenge was originally used for.

"Stonehenge was originally built for a peace treaty between demons and angels, a place that was considered sacred on both sides. It's a place where both sides can seek protection without being hunted, a bridge between the two planes. This, of course, means that if someone starts a war here, it would splinter into all the realms." My eyes widened at his explanation.

"But why me?" I asked as we reached the bottom, "Why would my blood start a war between the realms?"

"Why not you?" An unfortunately familiar voice asked. Claude stepped into the dim light. I froze at the sight, and Ciel tensed as if about to attack and placed his hand on me. "After all, we couldn't just kill a mere human, or a demon, now could we? It had to be someone who had light _and_ dark magic in their veins. And fortunately," Claude gestured towards me, smirking, "You have had both in your lifetimes." I bristled at the subtle jibe at my past. I would be the first to admit, I haven't had a pretty past. I've killed hundreds, perhaps even thousands. But I've helped even more. That I knew for sure.

"_You_," Ciel snarled, tightening his grip around my arm, as if to stake his claim on me. Claude glanced at him, his eyes glinting with something malicious.

"Nice to see you again, Phantomhive," Claude mocked, "Did you find your little songbird?" Ciel tightened his jaw, and glared fiercely at him. Having been too caught up with Claude being here, I hadn't noticed what was around us. We were in a huge, underground cavern that looked like it had been formed naturally hundreds of years ago. Stalactites hung precariously from the ceiling, making me anxious that they were going to fall on us. But they looked pretty sturdy and they had been there for hundreds of years, I doubt they were going to fall now.

The cavern was bare, save for a rack of blood-coated weapons that looked like torture devices. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach, and I doubted that I wanted to know what this room had been used for. Examining the room, I didn't see anything of importance that would say why this was the 'heart' of Stonehenge.

"What is this place?" I murmured to myself.

"It's where the peace treaty between the realms was signed," Claude answered, striding toward us. Ciel pulled me back, not wanting me to be any closer to Claude than I had to. In his defense, I didn't want to be near him either. "This cavern has more magic in it than half of England." My eyes widened, that much power in one place? It was a wonder that the place hadn't blown up by now.

"It won't work, you know," I blurted out, breaking out of Ciel's grip. Claude turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. "Your plan, it won't work. We'll stop you." Claude arched an eyebrow at me, smirking.

"Dear, dear Thea," he began, taking a step towards me with each word that he spoke, "Your blood didn't just start a war, it raised an _army_ of demons." My eyes widened with shock, my mouth gaping at him. "Your blood is special. With it, I was able to summon an entire force of demons to destroy this disgusting world. And after it's all over, you will be beside me as my Queen." When he finished, Claude was right in front of me, hardly any space in between us.

"I'll never be your Queen," I snarled, my hands starting to glow with magic from the force of my anger.

"Oh really," Claude taunted, "Well I have someone who may be able to change that." At the snap of his fingers, a tall male in a suit of armor stepped out of the shadows. "Capture her, leave the demon to me," Claude commanded him. The mysterious man nodded his head, before slowly reaching up and taking off his helmet. Once he had taken it off, it revealed a mop of dark brown- almost black- hair, and he had strangely kept his eyes closed. I tilted my head, looking closely at him. He appeared to be my age, and looked almost familiar. As if he could read my mind, the boy opened his eyes, and stared straight into my soul.

I must have gasped aloud, but I wouldn't know. Because as soon as he opened his eyelids, I was rooted to the spot. He had silvery blue eyes.

Just like mine.

Reaching out my hand, "Orion?" I whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If any of you guessed this ending, please review and I will give you a thousand hugs and free admission to Sebastian. I've been planning this out for a long time, and I hope you liked the plot twist. Also, I apologize for the short chapter, because I'm very tired, and- as usual- for the poor quality. But hopefully the next chapter will be up soon! (And all mystery will be cleared!) XD

Reviews:

GMWalcorn2713: I'm sorry! (Don't you dare compare me to Rick Riordan!) And of _course _I'll kill Claude. Don't be ridiculous.

DesirableDreams: Thanks! I'm glad you like the witch part and the reincarnation theory. I thought it would be good for the story!

Scorpia1029: Don't worry, he will!

Angelaleopard: I'm sorry! (Hope you liked the chapter)

Lady Mary Michaelis: Yay! *Gives cookies* Well, I bet we can arrange something so you can get both.

Awesomealixe: I'm glad I made you happy! (Sorry for the panic attack)

IndigoBlueButterfly: Ciel to the rescue! (BTW, I just typed rescute for a moment, but Ciel is cute too ;) )

Magenta Peace: I'm with you, I hate him too. (And you got me on the Merlin reference) Congratulations on spotting it.) Ciel would make a good disney prince wouldn't he… Hmm… Crossover? (I don't know, will it?)

Hxpelessfxngirl: I'm sorry if I made you cry! :( I didn't mean too! (That's a lie…. But sorry anyway!)

Boo's Castle: I'm sorry! *Throws chapter at you* THERE YOU GO!

Tye-Dye Girl: I think it's hilarious how all of you want to murder Claude int he most horrendous of ways (BTW, I agree with you all the way). And yes, her mother is alive… Or is she?

Esmereilda: Yay! (I love the word comeuppance for some reason…)

Please R&amp;R!


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

"Orion?" I whispered, my voice cracking. His silvery blue eyes stared blankly back into mine. His hair was longer- almost to his shoulders- than it was 4 years ago. Looking at him after all these years was like looking through a cracked mirror. He was familiar, but somehow so different too.

He looked like a soldier. His eyes stared into mine, looking but not really seeing. It was the stare of a soldier. Of someone who had seen untold horrors. Of someone who was broken, perhaps beyond repair. My eyes widened in horror. What had they done to him? How was he even here?

"Who are you...?" I questioned, my voice cracking once again. This couldn't be my brother! There was no way this was even possible! Claude smirked in amusement at the scene in front of him. Holding up a hand, he stopped my brother from taking a step, obeying Claude's previous orders.

"Don't you recognize him, Thea?" Claude taunted cruelly, "After all, he is your own, twin brother."

"No he isn't!" I shouted, my fists curling at my side defensively, "My brother died when I was thirteen!" Claude clucked his tongue, making a disappointed sound in the back of his throat.

"Oh, Thea," Claude said, almost pityingly, taking a step forward, " Did you really think that?" Being backed into a corner, mentally and physically, I took a step backwards. I bristled, tensing myself as if about to fight. The air was thick with tension, and the cavern began to feel very small. Ciel was silent behind me- with what, I don't know.

"I- I-" I stuttered, my gaze darting between the approaching demon bastard who had kept me captive, and my long lost brother.

"Thea," Orion said, taking a gentle step towards me, " It's me." I broke the moment my name exited his lips in a voice I haven't heard for four years. My defense dissolved almost immediately, and my eyes filled with tears. It was him... He came back.

"It really is you," I said in a cracked voice. I began to walk towards him, but Ciel caught my wrist before I could even take a step. Jerking around to glare at him angrily, my own gaze softened when I saw the conflicted emotions on his face. But even at the look on his face, my gaze hardened almost immediately.

"Let me go!" I screamed, the sound echoing in the almost-empty cavern. When Ciel refused I screamed at him again. "Let me go, you bastard!" Ciel's eyes flew open wide at that and his gaze hardened, but I didn't let myself care. With a jerk of his hand, Ciel pulled me up against himself.

"Thea," he warned in a low voice, "Think about this. That isn't your brother anymore, it's not really him. He's been tortured, and wiped, and who knows what else. We need to leave, now." His words passed right through my ears, not really hearing any of it. All I could think was that my brother was back. I wasn't alone any longer.

Ripping my arm our of his grasp, I glared up at him in a whirlwind of emotions. "He's my twin!" I snarled at him. I turned to face Orin again. He was looking at me with a cryptic look on his face, and he truly looked like he was dead. He was utterly impassive. But, I imagined that there was something in his eyes- something struggling to get free. Shaking my head, I ignored the thought, still filled with anger at Ciel's suggestion. How could I leave the most important person for the first thirteen years of my life? I thought he was dead, and he was back. I could save him from Claude, I could save him this time.

Claude chuckled quietly to himself, his face contorting to one portraying malevolent amusement. I refused to look at him, keeping my unwavering gaze upon Orion. However, Claude was obviously growing bored with growing scene.

"Do hurry up and capture her already," Claude sighed. Orion nodded, the spark disappearing, as he once again turned into a mindless soldier.

"Yes sir," he acknowledged, before sliding a long sword out of the sheath on his back with a _shing!_ Hearing the familiar noise, I tensed myself, preparing myself to have to fight. I still thought that I could save him, that I could get him away from Claude. Maybe I could get my brother back.

Without hesitation, Orion swung his sword at me. I was unprepared for him to do it so quickly, that I couldn't get out of the way quick enough, and got a cut on my arm because of it. I winced slightly, cradling the arm to me. My gaze hardening, I lifted my arm to manipulate the air around his sword and threw it against the cavern wall behind him. Undeterred, Orion merely grasped another sword- a shorter one this time- that was on his back.

As he thrust it at me, I deflected it using my newly refound powers. "Orion!" I gasped, beads of sweat appearing on my forehead with the strain. "Why are you doing this?" A flicker of emotion flew over his face before it returned to a battle hardened warrior.

"Because," he growled, "It's my duty to protect you." I gaped at him, my moment of distraction allowing him to rush at me, and flip me onto my back. Ciel and Claude were fighting behind us, albeit much faster and harder.

"How are you protecting me, exactly, right now?" I demanded from on my back. Using my pelvis, I flipped him off on me, regaining my balance as I hopped to my feet. Orion got an almost distraught expression on his face, as if he couldn't imagine how I thought he wasn't doing this all for me.

"When we were thirteen," he quietly stated, each word holding me captive, "An _angelic_ cult was coming for you." My eye widened with horror, what did they want me for? Especially when I was that young. Orion continued, "I convinced them to take me instead of you, and make it look like I had died. Don't you see; everything I've ever done was to protect you!" A glint of desperation shone in his eye as he pinned me against the cavern wall.

"Then what happened to you during all those years," I questioned in barely a whisper, almost fearing the answer, "What happened to you?" He wasn't the same as he was four years ago; Orion was now a soldier. A soldier for the wrong side. But then again, was there truly a right side?

Orion's eyes glazed over once again, as if immersed in memories. They were painful ones by the look of it. He opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again, before repeating the process. "They turned me into _this_," he growled with a hint of revulsion in his voice, showing true emotion for the first time. My eyes widened, partially in sympathy and pity. He hated himself. He felt disgusted living in his own skin- I could feel it. There was anger ebbing at me that wasn't my own- it was coming from him. I could sense it in a way that I was able to many, many years ago. "They said I was their 'perfect specimen'. They took Orion away and wiped him!" He shouted, echoing in the mostly empty cavern. I made a choked noise in the back of my throat- they wiped him? I could imagine the extensive torture he must had gone through.

Over with conversation, Orion began to tighten his grip on my wrist, almost crushing it. Using my other hand, I sent a blast of pure force at him to knock him off. He stumbled backwards several steps, but prepared himself to run at me again.

"Yaaah!" Orion yelled, running towards me with a small dagger. Dodging to the side, I disarmed him, but he immediately afterwards threw a knife at me.

"But why do you work for Claude?" I demanded desperately, while still trying to avoid getting stabbed. It didn't make any sense, why would he still work for Claude? I dodged, just missing the black dagger he threw at me. For however much Orion was saying he wanted to protect me, he was sure doing a lot to disprove that.

"He's the one who saved me," Orion railed, a manic glint in his eye. His eyes- once so like mine- were filled with madness and anger. "_He's_ the one who took me out of that place. He is our savior!" With that, he ran at me, and I didn't even attempt to dodge it. Knocking me to the ground, I fell flat on my back with the wind knocked out of my chest. I distantly heard a yell coming from Ciel, but I didn't pay it any heed.

As I lay there, my mind was strangely empty. My brother was truly gone- and he wasn't coming back. My eyes were glazed over from the force of the impact, and a slight throbbing was coming from the back of my head.

When we had been fighting, Ciel and Claude had been fighting each other ruthlessly. Both Claude and Ciel had sustained injuries- though the former had sustained considerably more. Ciel smirked at Claude, obviously happy with even getting a fraction of the revenge he had planned for him. The combination of his past with Claude, and him kidnapping me had not proven to be a good mixture.

Claude had underestimated Ciel- which was never a good move- because he was a young demon. However, his teacher had been Sebastian. And Sebastian always succeeded. Speaking of which… I tilted my head to listen for sounds up above. I could vaguely hear the sound of fighting on ground level. I didn't know who was winning- since it was a just-woken demon army and a load of stupid humans.

Suddenly- and for no apparent reason- Ciel rushed towards the center of the cavern. My gaze followed from the floor- as did Orion's. We unofficially put our fight on hold to watch the antics of the demons.

"Phantomhive! What are you-" Claude growled. Ciel took the chance and darted into the center. Fumbling around in his pocket, Ciel pulled something out. It looked vaguely like vial with a dark purple liquid inside. Claude obviously recognized it, because as soon as he saw it, he attempted to take it forcibly from Ciel. Claude's eyes widened, returning to their natural state of fuchsia.

Attacking him from behind, Claude partially transformed into his demon form and raked his claws against Ciel's back. Blood gushed from his wounds, dripping down his back in morbidly fascinating patterns. Hissing in pain, but not stopping to retaliate, Ciel smashed the vial on the cavern floor. Turning around, Ciel smirked arrogantly at Claude. They had a staring contest, Ciel smirking while Claude was scowling.

"I'll be back Phantomhive, you'll do well to remember that," Claude hissed malevolently. He bristled while Ciel just continued smirking at him. And strangely- but certainly- Claude left. He walked up the stairs and left. But not before ordering Orion, "Kill the demon," he hissed, his eyes flashing red. My jaw dropped open as Ciel just let him walk away. Taking a moment to examine Ciel, I noticed how strained he looked. He looked like it was taking all of his self-control to not just run after Claude and reinstate the fight. Resisting the temptation, Ciel turned towards me with a faint smile. Orion's grip went slack and I stood up, brushing the dirt off my pants.

"Ciel?" I asked, bewildered. He turned to me and grinned, his face lighting up. Taken aback, I looked behind me to see what he could possibly be smiling at so brightly. It was only when I turned around that I realized that it was me he was smiling at. Allowing a small smile to grace my features, I turned back to the question that was going through my head. "What was that?" His smile melted away to be replaced with a concerned look.

"Something that'll make this place blow up in less than fifteen minutes," he said bluntly. My jaw dropped open, he did what? How could he just do that?

"We should probably leave then," I said in a rush, starting to walk quickly towards the door. However, I was grabbed roughly back before I had taken more than three steps.

Orion was behind me, holding a knife to my neck. I could feel his breath hitting my neck as he panted with excretion and anger.

"I'm not leaving without her," Orion said, his voice filled with rage. Ciel's eyes emptied of warmth and filled with ice.

"Well, I don't believe that's going to be possible," Ciel commented icily, "Seeing as she is _mine._" I normally would have outraged at his possessive term, but seeing as how I had a knife to my neck, I refrained from commenting. I could sense rather than see Orion smirk behind me.

"My master's orders_ were_ to kill you, and I think I'll have some fun with this." Ciel tilted his head slightly, allowing a smirk to cross his face.

"Well see who's having _fun_," Ciel hissed, raising his eyebrows on the last word. His eyes flashed red for a moment, before taking a confident step forward.

"No!" I yelled, stepping in-between them. This wasn't the way… There didn't have to be any more needless bloodshed. "Stop- you don't need to fight. Just turn away from each oth-" I cut off as I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen. Slowly looking down, I saw a piece of metal impaling my flesh. Blood streamed down the knife in rivets. "I-" I choked. Looking up, I saw Orion's cold, uncaring face above mine.

Without a worry in the world, he uncaringly retracted the blade from my body. With the lack of support, I fell to the floor on my knees. "I-" Shakily, I reached a hand towards my stomach- only to see it come away red with blood. My eyes widened at the sight, and I could feel myself start to go into shock as I collapsed. I shook uncontrollably- unable to feel the full extent of the pain. Shock was much worse than I had thought.

All my muscles reacted violently, blood pouring out of my body. Every muscle trembled, shook with the might of my pain. There was too much blood. It didn't seem like it was possible for all of it to have come from me. Red stained the tattered remains of white fabric. Dimly, I heard a roar of pure anger and terror. As if I was watching through glass coated with steam, I was vaguely aware of Ciel and Orion fighting. And there was nothing I could do about it.

"**_Ten… Nine… Eight…_**" I could hear Ciel counting down from ten. With each lesser number, a scream arose from my brother's throat. When he hit zero- the room was silent. Too silent.

Summoning the last of my energy, I turned my head to see Orion's bloodstained face next to mine.

"Ori-" I choked. My eyes filled with tears. Regardless of what he had just done to me, he was my brother. Using energy I didn't know I had, I sat up slightly and pulled him into my arms. Using my other hand, I brushed back his hair in the way mother used to do when we were little. Suddenly, his head turned slightly to face me. I gasped with a start- surprised that he was even still alive.

"The-" Orion said, his gaze searching. For what he was looking for, I do not know, "a?" With that, his eyes became glassy. Reaching up a hand, I closed his eyelids- allowing him to finally reach his final resting place. Allowing my arm to fall to the ground, I felt the beginnings of fogginess to grip my brain. As I lay there by my brother's corpse, a tear slowly trickled down my cheek.

I didn't know why, but I didn't have the energy to wipe it away. As it was, my vision was starting to fade- and I had a feeling that this time it was for good.

"Thea?" Ciel asked, taking my head in his hand and leaning over me. His worried expression was the last thing I saw until my world faded to eternal black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yay~! Here's your update! I'm sorry that this is so short, and took so long- but I believe that the Epilogue will be up quicker. By the way, I was rereading through some of my previous chapters and I must say. They were awful- you guys are amazing for sticking through this entire shebang. Thank you so much and I cannot tell you how much I love you guys! I hope you liked this chapter, and the final one may clear up some things.

Reviews:

MagentaPeace: I'm sorry! (Though I don't think this chapter is much better…) I'm glad you liked the chapter &amp; all the Merlin references (I was testing you…). I hope this chapter answered all your questions (Well, most of them anyway). It would literally be the best thing ever if they made a Kuroshitsuji disney movie.

DesirableDreams: Sorry! (J.K. Not really). MUHAHAHAHAHA

Dark Shadow400: I'm glad you liked the powers bit (Sorry about the cliffhanger) XD

Awesomealixe: Only one more chapter left, my dear! I'm glad you like this fic so much!

LinneaFox: Awww… That's the sweetest thing I've ever read! Thank you so much ;)

Killerdawgrox: *Throws chapter at you* AND ENJOY IT!

Esmereilda: That would be a cool plot twist, but I'm too evil for that.

SebastiansWifey: Awww… You're so sweet! Thank you, it makes me really happy to know that you like it. I hope you liked this chapter!

Lady Mary Michaelis: #Plottwist I'm glad you liked the cookies! I made them myself!

Tye-Dye Girl: Those were my exact thoughts when writing Claude. I actually had to physically hide under a blanket to write those bits. I'm not exaggerating, which is the sad part. Hope you liked this chapter!

Murakami-kumiko: #Plottwist #Mindsblown #Orion's back! #Iofficiallyhatemyselfforusingallofthesehastags. Anywho, hope you liked the chapter!

Please R&amp;R!


	27. Chapter 27

Epilogue

~Third Person~

Ciel's eyes that were filled with anger soon turned to something else when he saw Thea laying motionless on the cavern floor. Her arms were cradling her dying twin, and he had to suppress a wave of anger at the sight. _He just tried to kill her, and now she's holding him? In what universe does that make sense?_ Ignoring the thought out of panic, he rushed towards her prone form. He arrived just in time to see her eyelids close over glazed eyes.

She was lying still in a pool of blood- he didn't know whether or not it was hers. He hoped it was Orion's and not Thea's, but he couldn't be sure. He felt a sort of malicious pleasure at seeing Orion dead since he had done this to his own sister. A brother who would do this to his twin couldn't be called a brother at all. True family didn't destroy one another.

Kneeling down in the pool of blood, Ciel cradled her head. _I was too late…_

"No… I- I love you," Ciel admitted to his beloved, but far too late.

Thea looked torn apart. A steady stream of red flowed from her abdomen, though it was starting to dry. There was a small trail of blood coming from the corner of her mouth, and her head was tilted to the side. She looked dead- a corpse of someone who used to live.

_No…. _His eyes glazed over at the sight and filled with something manic, _No…_ She couldn't die- he had already lost his family once- he wouldn't lose her. Not her too. He refused. Tearing his gloves off, he did something that he had never thought he would do in his entire existence.

~Thea~

My eyelids slowly fluttered open, and my first thought was that my throat was extremely dry. As if he could sense my thoughts, a glass of water was placed against my lips. I blinked- scrunching my face tightly- before opening my eyes completely. I was on a bluff by a forest, laying on a bed of leaves. The lighting was dim- and it looked like it was nightfall. When my eyes adjusted to the darkness, the first thing I noticed was Ciel.

"Ciel?" I croaked, my voice dry and scratchy. He shushed me before patiently speaking to me.

"Drink first," he said gently. He was acting usually kind right now. Obeying, I sipped from the glass. Where he had gotten, I had no idea, but I didn't seem to care as I greedily drank it down. My thirst was slowly being quenched, only to be replaced by a strange sensation in my head. It wasn't exactly a headache. It just felt more… full than usual.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice back to normal. Ciel's face suddenly showed apprehension and a tint of sorrow. His eyes were heavy as he looked at me.

"You'll want to see it for yourself," he replied quietly, kneeling beside me. Filled with curiosity, and more than a little dread, I sat up from my bed of leaves. Ciel stood up and grimly offered me his hand. Ignoring it, I stood up on my own- ignoring the wave of dizziness that assaulted me. Ciel steadied me by my arm, and I didn't complain for once.

When my vision cleared, I gaped at the sight awaiting me. Stonehenge and the entire sight around it was enveloped in ash. The place had been blown to ruins. I gasped, sharply intaking a breath.

"What did you do?" I asked, aghast. The entire place was gone, the only remembrance of it being the smoke curling through the air. I turned to face Ciel only to see a conflicted expression on his face.

"I had to," Ciel said, his voice only a whisper. I continued to stare at him with an unbelieving expression. _Why? Why did he have to, he must have had another choice. There's always another choice. _My mind filled with how many people had been in there. Not all of them had been evil- some of them had been good. Like the three girls who had taken care of me. _So many families without members; what good had come of it?_

"Why?" I demanded harshly, "Why was it necessary to kill all of those people?"

"Those people were trying to kill you, in case you've forgotten!" Ciel hissed back, malevolently. Seeing my hurt expression, his countenance softened. "I'm sorry," he apologized, taking my hand in his. Ciel took a deep breath; he seemed more on edge than usual. He seemed… different. I wasn't quite sure how, but he was. Ciel cleared his throat.

"If I hadn't destroyed Stonehenge, the demon army would have eventually gained enough strength to start to take over the world," Ciel answered calmly and quietly. I let out a slow breath at that, biting my bottom lip. My mind was filled with the horror of what an entire demon army could have wrecked. _He was doing the right thing…_ I forgave him in my mind, but I was nevertheless sorrowful at the thought of so many deaths. Even if they hadn't been entirely innocent, they hadn't deserved to die like that.

"Claude got away, didn't he?" I asked in a dull voice. Ciel nodded, confirming my fears. I shuddered at the memories of what he had tried to do. _That reminds me…_

"What was the liquid that you poured in the cavern?" I voiced my question, a note of curiosity penetrating it. Ciel inched his way closer to me unconsciously.

"It was a potion meant to unlock all of the magic that had been waiting there for thousands of years," he said bluntly, "The force would have blown up everything in a hundred meters." My eyes widened. There had been _that _much magic trapped in one place? We stood in silence for several moments, staring out over the ruins.

"Where did you get it?" I asked softly. Ciel gave a half shrug.

"I don't exactly know, to be honest," Ciel admitted, "A woman in a black cloak gave it to me." Snapping my head to face him, my eyes stared forcefully into his.

"A woman wearing black cloak?" I echoed. "Did she have silvery blue eyes?" I asked urgently. Ciel's brow furrowed, confused.

"Yes…?" He answered, acting bewildered. Thoughts were whirling throughout my mind, not settling on one in particular. Suddenly, a realization dawned on me and I got an understanding look on my face. "Thea?" Ciel asked urgently, "THEA!" I snapped out of it and looked at him.

"She planned all of it," I breathed, my eyes going out of focus. _How could she…?_

"Thea, what are you talking about?" Ciel questioned, bemused. I ignored him for a moment as the last fragments of the puzzle fell into place.

"That woman was my mother," I answered emptily, "S-She's one of the witches that gave me my memories back."

"What do you mean?" I looked sharply at Ciel, realizing that he was still partially in the dark about me knowing about my previous identities. I had mentioned it in passing when he had seen me use my magic, but I doubt I made any sense at the time.

"She unleashed something in me so I could remember all my previous lives," I replied flatly. Ciel's hand dropped from mine as he gazed at me in astonishment. "She must have planned all of this from the very beginning," I muttered. "She gave you the vial to blow it up- she knew she was going to die. Why?" Ciel stayed silent- a fact I greatly appreciated- and instead wrapped me into a hug. I stayed in his embrace, trying to process all that had happened.

"Ciel," I asked fragilely, "What happened back in the cavern?" Ciel stiffened, as if recalling bad memories, but just continued to grip me tighter. "Ciel?" I asked again after a moment, my voice slightly stronger.

"I almost lost you," Ciel said, his voice gruff. For a moment I didn't know why, until I realized it was from holding back tears. Closing my eyes to hide the sympathetic tears that were welling up, I squeezed him tighter before releasing him.

"Ciel…" I said gently, cupping his cheek in my hand, "What happened?" I needed to know. I remember Claude walking out and Orion and Ciel fighting. And… And… I strained to remember. _I'd gotten stabbed!_ Shocked by the thought, I instinctively looked down at my stomach, as if expecting to see a large, gaping hole in it. _And after that…_ Ciel and Orion fought, and- _Orion died._ My face was wiped of expression at that thought. I still didn't completely know how I felt about it. Admittedly, he had been trying to kill me, but he was my brother. He had sacrificed himself when we were thirteen to save me- just because we psychic. The cult had only wanted me because I was a witch- they wanted power. But instead Orion sacrificed himself to save me, so I wouldn't have to undergo the kinds of things he did.

I now knew that he was like me, too. In my memories, he had always been there next to me. _When I was Morgana, he was Mordred. When I was Medea, he Absyrtus. He was always by my side._ I idly wondered who he would be in his next life- or if I would even see him again. He was as part of me as I of him. We were twins- we were together no matter what. Death couldn't stop the two of us.

"But… how?" I asked, a hint of desperation entering my voice. There was no way I could have survived that- even with my magic being back. Ciel looked apprehensively at me.

"I- I-" Ciel stared at me with desperation and something… caring in his eyes. He closed his eyes tightly for a moment, as he was reliving painful memories. His jaw tightened before he pulled me into his embrace. Gently kissing the top of my head, I relaxed under his grip. It was only now that I noticed he was shaking- and not from the cool night air.

"Ciel," I said, pulling away, "How?" Ciel didn't respond for a moment, instead taking my chin in his hand and staring directly into my eyes.

"You were going to die," he muttered, avoiding my gaze.

"Ciel," I warned, my eyes wide. I wanted to know, I _needed_ to know.

"Fine," he said, a note of finality in his voice. "I did something to you that I promised myself I would never, ever do."

"And that was…?" I slowly questioned, feeling dread grow in my stomach. _What did he do to me?_ Ciel shifted uncomfortably.

"Thea… You're no longer human." My eyes grew to the size of small moons.

"What?" I demanded, not pulling away. _I- I'm not human?_ What the hell did he mean, 'I'm not human'?

"I had to!" He snapped, "You would have died!" His voice cracked on the last word, and he abruptly shut his mouth. HIs muscles looked strained, and he was looking at me like he was afraid I would disappear.

"But- how did you even do that?" I asked incredulously. After a moment of silence, Ciel finally answered me.

"I gave you part of my power to make you like me," Ciel mumbled, looking down at his feet. He seemed almost ashamed of his actions. _I- Am I a demon?_ As Ciel looked up at me, I could see the emotions conflicting on his face.

"But why are you acting like this?" I asked. I admit, I was slightly mad at the whole 'saving me by turning into a kind-of demon' thing, but nothing that warranted his hesitation.

"Because you can't die," Ciel said, almost sadly, "You will be forced to live forever unless you're killed." Stiffening, I stepped away from him. His arms dropped to his sides morosely.

"A-Am I a demon?" I asked with a note of urgency in my voice. Slowly, Ciel nodded, confirming my thoughts. _I- I-_ I couldn't even think. For that moment, time froze and everything stopped. The leaves didn't sway with the wind. The smoke wasn't curling through the air. _I was immortal._ I knew about all my past lives, but I had been able to still die. I would have to live through the passage of time, watching people die and wars being won and lost. Time would go on, but I would not.

Eyes filled with tears, I threw my arms around Ciel. I tightened my grip around him, as if he were my anchor to sanity at the moment.

"Thea," Ciel said hesitantly. "I love you," he whispered into my ear. I froze in shock at the words, something strange coursing through my heart. "I've known that for a while, but I only said it when it was almost too late. Never again." Giving a watery smile, I squeezed him back.

"I love you too," I whispered, my words being carried along with the wind. We stood like that for several moments, enjoying the rare moment of peace and quiet. Eventually, though, we let go. Gazing out over the smoldering remains of Stonehenge, I walked to the edge of the bluff to stare out at the sky.

The flames were pretty much out, though there were a few still burning away. The smoke was mostly dispersed by now, except for a few thin tendrils reaching towards the sky.

"Did Sebastian and Alois make it out?" I questioned after a moment of silence. I didn't turn to look at him, choosing to stare out across the great expanse of land.

"Yes," Ciel answered mechanically, "I assume they're back at the manor." I nodded absently, my gaze rapt upon the skyline. The sky was turning to a dark red, telling that it was almost dawn. We stood in silence together, each of us lost in our own mind.

"My mother," I started, swallowing thickly, "I don't think she was just my mother." Ciel turned to face me.

"Why do you say that?" He asked. I refused to look at him, instead continuing to look out across the flames.

"Because she's been in every single one of my lives- not just this one," I said distantly, "She hasn't always been my mother- sometimes she's helped me, or she's just another face in the street. But she's always there." Ciel quieted, allowing me my moment of remembrance. Turning to Ciel, I looked up at him with a distant look in my eye.

"You know," I said, my eyes glazed over, "I think she was Hecate." She pervaded throughout all of my lives- and always in the same form. As soon as I spoke it aloud, I got a feeling that I was right.

Stepping closer to me, Ciel took my hand in his as we gazed out over the ruins. The wind sighed through swaying trees; with the birds singing along with the breeze. Nature surrounded us as we stood in a bubble for that moment, protected from he world.

_I'm immortal- and not just temporarily. Forever._ I would have to watch time go on as I did not. I would be alone. _Then again…_ I thought, glancing down at our intertwined hands. _Maybe not._ Looking up at Ciel, I smiled- a real, true smile for the first time in what felt like ages.

Turning around, we turned our backs to the ruins and walked in the forest together, just as the sun started to break above the horizon. And I never looked back.

~Fine~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's the end. I would like to take a moment to thank all of you who reviewed and took the time to read this story. Thank you all so much for helping me improve as a writer. I hope you enjoyed the ride!

Reviews:

The StoryDreamer: Aww… You made my day, thank you so much- I'm glad you enjoyed this fic.

mazerunnerfreak: Well, glad it was depression enough. Hope you liked the chapter!

awesomealixe: I'm sorry! :( I know, it was unfair, but you have to keep in mind that he was psychologically tortured. Hope this chapter fulfilled your expectations.

Lady Mary Michaelis: I'm sorry! (But I was planning this ending from the very beginning). Glad you liked the cookies!

Dark shadow400: I'm glad you liked the chapter, hope you liked this one!

Esmereilda: Aww.. Thank you! (Though, I'm probably not going to do a sequel. But I may do some special one-shots or something to add onto this fic)

MagentaPeace: Yay!~~ I'm sorry about Orion, but it needed to happen. (I _wish_ there was a kuro-disney movie. Best. Thing. Ever. Hope you liked the chapter!

Guest: Don't worry, I could never kill off the main character- I'm not Steven Moffat. I hope this chapter cleared up why she was wanted by the cult.

Thank you all so much for reviewing/favoriting/following/reading. Happy reading!


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